Tinubu seeks Senate confirmation for 21 nominees to key oil, gas regulatory boards

President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has forwarded letters to the Senate requesting the confirmation of 21 nominees for the governing boards of the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) and the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA), in a move aimed at strengthening regulatory oversight in Nigeria’s oil and gas sector.

The development was disclosed on Tuesday by the President’s Special Adviser on Information and Strategy, Mr. Bayo Onanuga, who said the nominations were transmitted in two separate letters addressed to the Senate leadership.

In the first letter, President Tinubu nominated Senator Magnus Abe as Chairman of the NUPRC Board. Abe, a two-term senator who represented Rivers South-East Senatorial District, previously served as a board member of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) and is the current chairman of the National Agency for the Great Green Wall.

Other nominees for the NUPRC board as non-executive commissioners 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).

President Tinubu also nominated several executive commissioners for the NUPRC. They include Muhammed Sabo Lamido (Finance), Mr. Edu Inyang (Exploration and Acreage), Justin Ezeala (Economic Regulation and Strategic Planning), Henry Darlington Oki (Development and Production), Indabawa Bashari Alka (Corporate Services and Administration), and Mahmood Tijani (Health, Safety and Environment).

Additionally, Ms. Olayemi Adeboyejo was nominated as Secretary and Legal Adviser to the commission.

Some of the nominees, including Lamido and Adeboyejo, were initially appointed under the administration of former President Muhammadu Buhari, while Alka was appointed by President Tinubu in 2023. The remaining nominees are fresh appointments by the current administration.

In a separate letter to the Senate, President Tinubu nominated Mr. Adegbite Ebiowei Adeniji as Chairman of the NMDPRA Board.

Adeniji is a legal practitioner with over 30 years of experience in energy and natural resources law. He previously served as Special Technical Adviser to the Minister of State for Petroleum on upstream and gas matters and was part of the World Bank Oil and Gas Policy team that advised the Nigerian government.

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Other nominees for the NMDPRA board include Chief Kenneth Kobani and Mrs. Asabe Ahmed as non-executive members. Those nominated as executive members are Abiodun Adeniji (Finance), Francis Ogaree (Hydrocarbon), Oluwole Adama (Midstream and Downstream Gas Infrastructure), and Dr. Mustapha Lamorde (Corporate Services and Administration).

Additional board appointments include Mr. Yahaya Nasamu Yinusa (Distribution Systems), Adeyemi Murtala Aminu (Corporate Services), Ms. Modie Ogechukwu (Economic Regulation and Strategic Planning), and Barrister Olawale Dawodu, who was nominated as Secretary and Legal Adviser.

President Tinubu urged the Senate to expedite the confirmation process, noting that the appointments follow the recent naming of chief executive officers for both regulatory agencies—Oritsemeyiwa Eyesan for the NUPRC and Engineer Saidu Aliyu Mohammed for the NMDPRA.

The President charged all nominees to discharge their responsibilities with professionalism, integrity, and diligence, stressing that effective regulation is critical to ensuring transparency, efficiency, and sustainable growth in Nigeria’s oil and gas industry.