Six days after leading other Ogoni leaders to host the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Barrister Nyesom Wike to a reception, Senator Magnus Abe has been nominated by President Bola Tinubu as Chairman of the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC).
Also nominated from Ogoniland is Chief Kenneth Kobani, a former commissioner during Wike’s tenure as Rivers State Governor. Kobani, whose father, Edward, was among four Ogoni chiefs killed on 21 May 1994, is to serve as Non-Executive member on the Board of the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA) upon confirmation by the Senate.
On Monday, presidential spokesperson, Mr. Bayo Onanuga announced that two letters had been sent to the Senate by the President, seeking the confirmation of 21 nominees for the boards of NUPRC and NMDPRA.
Last month, the Senate confirmed the President’s nominations of Oritsemeyiwa Eyesan as the Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC), and Saidu Mohammed as the CEO of the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA).
Engr. Farouk Ahmed has earlier resigned as Managing Director of the NMDPRA amid corruption allegations levelled against him by the Chairman of the Dangote Group, Alhaji Aliko Dangote. At the same time Engr. Gbenga Komolafe stepped down as the Chief Executive of the NUPRC.
According to Onanuga’s statement on Monday, in the first letter to the Senate, President Tinubu nominated Abe, who was the Senator for Rivers South East district between 2011 and 2019, to serve as the NUPRC Board chair. He is a former NNPC Board member and current Chairman of the National Agency of the Great Green Wall.
Other nominees for the NUPRC Board are a former Kaduna State chairperson of the Trade Union Congress, Engr. Paul Yaro Jezhi; and a former deputy director of the Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR), Mr. Sunday Adebayo Babalola. DPR was abolished by the PIA Act, 2021.
Both men will serve as non-executive commissioners.
President Tinubu also nominated Executive Commissioners to the Board. They include Muhammed Sabo Lamido (Executive Commissioner for Finance); Mr. Edu Inyang (Executive Commissioner for Exploration and Acreage); a former Managing Director of Nigerian Gas Marketing Limited, Justin Ezeala (Executive Commissioner for Economic Regulation and Strategic Planning); and Henry Darlington Oki (Executive Commissioner for Development and Production).
Others are: Indabawa Bashari Alka (Executive Commissioner for Corporate Services and Administration), Mahmood Tijani (Executive Commissioner for Health, Safety and Environment), and Ms. Olayemi Adeboyejo (Secretary and Legal Adviser).
Lamido and Adeboyejo were appointed in 2022 by the then President Muhammadu Buhari, while President Tinubu appointed Alka in 2023. Inyang, Ezeala, Tijani, Babalola and Jezhi are new appointees of President Tinubu.
In his second letter to the Senate, the President nominated Barrister Adegbite Ebiowei Adeniji as chairman of the NMDPRA Board. He has over 30 years of experience in energy and natural resources issues, and was a Special Technical Adviser to the Minister of State for Petroleum on Upstream and Gas until 2018.
He was a member of the Oil and Gas Policy team at the World Bank, which advised the Nigerian government on the reform and restructuring of the petroleum sector, including the development of the Strategic Gas Plan for Nigeria. He is currently the Managing Partner at ENR Advisory.
President Tinubu nominated Kobani and Mrs. Asabe Ahmed as Non-Executive members of the NMDPRA Board. Kobani was also a Minister of State for Trade under the then President Jonathan and Secretary to the Rivers State Government during Wike’s time as Rivers State Governor.
Also nominated for confirmation are Abiodun Adeniji (Executive Director of Finance) Francis Ogaree (Executive Director of Hydrocarbon), Oluwole Adama (Executive Director of Midstream and Downstream Gas Infrastructure) and Dr. Mustapha Lamorde (Executive Director of Corporate Services and Administration). The President appointed Adama in 2024, while Buhari appointed Lamorde and Adeniji in 2021, and Ogaree in 2022
Other members of the NMDPRA Board nominated by President Tinubu are: Mr. Yahaya Nasamu Yinusa (Executive Director of Distribution Systems), Adeyemi Murtala Aminu (Executive Director of Corporate Services), Ms. Modie Ogechukwu (Executive Director of Economic Regulation and Strategic Planning) and and Barrister Olawale Dawodu (Board Secretary and Legal Adviser). Dawodu is an industry player and was, at a time, the Financial Reporting Manager at Exxon Nigerian subsidiaries.
The President urged the Senate to approve the nominees expeditiously.
