Tinubu sacks Farouk Ahmed, Gbenga Komolafe as heads of NMDPRA, NUPRC; names replacements

President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has removed Engineer Farouk Ahmed as Chief Executive of the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA) and Gbenga Komolafe as Chief Executive of the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC), marking a major leadership overhaul in Nigeria’s petroleum regulatory sector.

The dismissal of Ahmed comes amid corruption allegations publicly raised against him by billionaire industrialist Aliko Dangote, whose $20 billion refinery – the largest in Africa – has been embroiled in regulatory disputes with government agencies in recent months.

Both Ahmed and Komolafe were appointed in 2021 by former President Muhammadu Buhari following the implementation of the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA).

A statement issued on Wednesday by Presidential Adviser on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, confirmed that President Tinubu has forwarded the names of their replacements to the Senate for confirmation and urged lawmakers to fast-track the process.

To replace Komolafe at the NUPRC, the President nominated Oritsemeyiwa Amanorisewo Eyesan, while Engineer Saidu Mohammed was named to take over as Chief Executive of the NMDPRA.

Ms Eyesan brings nearly 33 years of experience from the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) and its subsidiaries. An Economics graduate of the University of Benin, she retired in 2024 as Executive Vice President, Upstream, after previously serving as Group General Manager, Corporate Planning and Strategy between 2019 and 2023.

Engineer Mohammed, born in 1957 in Gombe State, earned a Bachelor’s degree in Chemical Engineering from Ahmadu Bello University in 1981. He was announced on Wednesday as an independent non-executive director at Seplat Energy.

His professional career includes serving as Managing Director of Kaduna Refining and Petrochemical Company, Managing Director of Nigerian Gas Company, and Group Executive Director/Chief Operating Officer, Gas and Power Directorate at NNPC. He also chaired the boards of the West African Gas Pipeline Company, Nigeria LNG subsidiaries, and NNPC Retail.

Mohammed played key roles in the execution of major gas infrastructure projects, including the Escravos–Lagos Pipeline Expansion, the Ajaokuta–Kaduna–Kano (AKK) Gas Pipeline, and Nigeria LNG Train projects, and contributed to the formulation of the Gas Masterplan, Gas Network Code, and the Petroleum Industry Act.

The changes signal President Tinubu’s continued push to reset Nigeria’s petroleum regulatory framework amid sector-wide reforms and growing public scrutiny.