The Chief Executive of the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA), Engr. Farouk Ahmed, has resigned.
Similarly, his counterpart at the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC), Engr. Gbenga Komolafe has also quit his position.
Based on the development, President Bola Tinubu has asked the Senate to confirm new chief executives for the two agencies.
The President’s request was contained in separate letters to the Senate on Wednesday, as announced in a statement by the his Special Adviser on Information and Strategy, Mr. Bayo Onanuga.
On Tuesday, the Chairman of Dangote Group, Dr. Aliko Dangote filed a petition against Ahmed at the Independent Corrupt Practices and other Related Offences Commission, which the agency acknowledged and said it was investigating.
In the petition he submitted through his team of lawyers led by Dr. Ogwu James Onoja, SAN, Dangote demanded the arrest and prosecution of the NMDPRA boss, whom he accused of living above his means as a public servant.
He alleged that the NMDPRA MD paid over $7 million in tuition fees for four of his children in different schools in Switzerland.
According to him, the school fees were paid upfront for a period of six years.
President Tinubu nominated Engr. Saidu Aliyu Mohammed as CEO of NMDPRA and Oritsemeyiwa Amanorisewo Eyesan as CEO of NUPRC.
Born in 1957 in Gombe, Mohammed graduated from Ahmadu Bello University in 1981 with a Bachelor’s in Chemical Engineering. He was announced earlier on Wednesday as an independent non-executive director at Seplat Energy.
His prior roles include Managing Director of Kaduna Refining and Petrochemical Company and Nigerian Gas Company, as well as Chair of the boards of West African Gas Pipeline Company, Nigeria LNG subsidiaries, and NNPC Retail.
He also served as Group Executive Director/Chief Operating Officer, Gas & Power Directorate, where he provided strategic leadership for major gas projects and policy frameworks, including the Gas Masterplan, Gas Network Code, and contributions to the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA).
Mohammed played a pivotal role in delivering key projects such as the Escravos–Lagos Pipeline Expansion, the Ajaokuta–Kaduna–Kano Gas Pipeline, and Nigeria LNG Train.
Eyesan, a graduate of Economics from the University of Benin, spent nearly 33 years with the NNPC Limited and its subsidiaries. She retired as Executive Vice President, Upstream (2023–2024), and previously served as Group General Manager, Corporate Planning and Strategy at NNPC from 2019 to 2023.
Ahmed and Komolafe were appointed in 2021 by the then President Muhammadu Buhari after the enactment of the Petroleum Industry Act.
