Tinubu writes Senate, requests confirmation of new heads of NUPRC, NMDPRA

President Bola Tinubu has asked the Senate to screen and confirm Oritsemeyiwa Eyesan and Saidu Mohammed as chief executive officers of the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) and the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA), respectively.

The president’s request was contained in separate letters read by the Senate President, Godswill Akpabio, during the plenary on Thursday.

Their appointments followed the resignation of Farouk Ahmed as CEO of NMDPRA and Gbenga Komolafe of the NUPRC.

The two officials were appointed in 2021 by the late former President Buhari to lead the two regulatory agencies. Their resignations were announced by a presidential spokesperson, Bayo Ononuga, on Wednesday. 

Mr Ahmed resigned after allegations of corruption and abuse of office were made against him by Aliko Dangote, president and chief executive officer of Dangote Group.

Mr Dangote accused the leadership of the NMDPRA under Mr Ahmed of colluding with international traders and petroleum importers to undermine local refining by continuously issuing import licences for petroleum products.

He also alleged that Mr Ahmed was living beyond his legitimate means, claiming that four of his children were enrolled in secondary schools in Switzerland at costs running into several million dollars, raising concerns about possible conflicts of interest and regulatory integrity in the downstream petroleum sector.

In his letter, President Tinubu said the confirmation request was made in compliance with Sections 41 and 11(3) of the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA), which require him to transmit such nominations to the National Assembly for confirmation before appointees can be sworn in as substantive heads of the agencies.

The president urged lawmakers to expedite the confirmation process.

After the letters were read, Mr Akpabio referred the nominations to the Senate Committees on Petroleum (Upstream), Petroleum (Downstream), and Oil and Gas for screening and reporting.

The committees are expected to jointly screen the nominees and report back to the Senate on Friday.