President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has formally requested the Senate to confirm the appointment of 21 nominees to the governing boards of the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA) and the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC), in line with the provisions of the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA).
The nominations were conveyed to the Senate through two separate letters read during plenary, as part of ongoing efforts to strengthen governance, regulation, and efficiency in Nigeria’s oil and gas sector.
NUPRC Board Nominations
In the first letter, President Tinubu nominated Senator Magnus Abe as Chairman of the Board of the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC). Abe, a former two-term senator representing Rivers South-East, previously served as a member of the board of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) and is the current Chairman of the National Agency for the Great Green Wall.
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Other nominees for the NUPRC board include Engineer Paul Yaro Jezhi, a former Chairman of the Trade Union Congress (TUC) in Kaduna State, and Mr Sunday Adebayo Babalola, a former Deputy Director at the defunct Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR). Both were nominated as non-executive commissioners.
The President also nominated six executive commissioners for the commission. They include:
- Muhammed Sabo Lamido – Executive Commissioner, Finance
- Mr Edu Inyang – Executive Commissioner, Exploration and Acreage
- Justin Ezeala – Executive Commissioner, Economic Regulation and Strategic Planning
- Henry Darlington Oki – Executive Commissioner, Development and Production
- Indabawa Bashari Alka – Executive Commissioner, Corporate Services and Administration
- Mahmood Tijani – Executive Commissioner, Health, Safety and Environment
In addition, Ms Olayemi Adeboyejo was nominated as Secretary and Legal Adviser to the board.
While Lamido and Adeboyejo were initially appointed in 2022 under the administration of former President Muhammadu Buhari, Alka was appointed by President Tinubu in 2023. Inyang, Ezeala, Oki, Tijani, Babalola and Jezhi are new nominees.
NMDPRA Board Nominations
In a separate letter, President Tinubu nominated Mr Adegbite Ebiowei Adeniji, a legal practitioner with over three decades of experience in energy and natural resources, as Chairman of the NMDPRA Board. Adeniji previously served as Special Technical Adviser to the Minister of State for Petroleum and was part of the World Bank Oil and Gas Policy Team that advised Nigeria on petroleum sector reforms.
Other non-executive nominees include Chief Kenneth Kobani, a former Minister of State for Trade and former Secretary to the Rivers State Government, and Mrs Asabe Ahmed.
The President also nominated the following executive directors:
- Abiodun Adeniji – Executive Director, Finance
- Francis Ogaree – Executive Director, Hydrocarbon Processing
- Oluwole Adama – Executive Director, Midstream and Downstream Gas Infrastructure
- Dr Mustapha Lamorde – Executive Director, Corporate Services and Administration
Further nominees to the NMDPRA board include:
- Mr Yahaya Nasamu Yinusa – Executive Director, Distribution Systems
- Adeyemi Murtala Aminu – Executive Director, Corporate Services
- Ms Modie Ogechukwu – Executive Director, Economic Regulation and Strategic Planning
- Barrister Olawale Dawodu – Board Secretary and Legal Adviser
Dawodu is an industry professional and formerly served as Financial Reporting Manager at ExxonMobil’s Nigerian subsidiaries.
President Tinubu urged the Senate to expedite consideration and confirmation of the nominees, noting that effective board leadership is critical to the regulation and stability of Nigeria’s oil and gas industry.
The nominations follow the recent confirmation of Oritsemeyiwa Eyesan as Chief Executive Officer of NUPRC and Engineer Saidu Aliyu Mohammed as Chief Executive Officer of NMDPRA.
The President charged all nominees to uphold professionalism, transparency, and national interest in the discharge of their responsibilities as regulators of Nigeria’s petroleum sector.
