President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has written to the Senate, seeking confirmation of 21 nominees to fill board positions at Nigeria’s two critical petroleum regulators, the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) and the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA).
In the first letter, Tinubu nominated former senator Magnus Abe as chairman of the NUPRC board. Abe, who represented Rivers South-East for two terms, previously served on the NNPC board and is currently chairman of the National Agency of the Great Green Wall.
Also nominated as non-executive commissioners are EnginPaul Yaro Jezhi, a former Trade Union Congress chairman in Kaduna, and Sunday Adebayeer o Babalola, a former deputy director at the defunct Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR).
The President further named seven executive commissioners to the NUPRC board:
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Muhammed Sabo Lamido (Finance)
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Edu Inyang (Exploration and Acreage)
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Justin Ezeala (Economic Regulation and Strategic Planning)
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Henry Darlington Oki (Development and Production)
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Indabawa Bashari Alka (Corporate Services and Administration)
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Mahmood Tijani (Health, Safety and Environment)
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Olayemi Adeboyejo (Secretary and Legal Adviser)
While Lamido and Adeboyejo were first appointed by former President Muhammadu Buhari in 2022 and Alka by Tinubu in 2023, Inyang, Ezeala, Tijani, Babalola and Jezhi are new nominees.
In a second letter, Tinubu nominated energy lawyer Adegbite Ebiowei Adeniji as chairman of the NMDPRA board. Adeniji, with over 30 years’ experience in energy and natural resources, previously advised the Ministry of Petroleum, worked with the World Bank’s Oil and Gas Policy team, and currently leads ENR Advisory.
The President also nominated Chief Kenneth Kobani, a former Minister of State for Trade and ex-Secretary to the Rivers State Government, and Mrs Asabe Ahmed as non-executive members.
For executive roles at NMDPRA, Tinubu nominated:
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Abiodun Adeniji (Finance)
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Francis Ogaree (Hydrocarbon Processing)
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Oluwole Adama (Midstream and Downstream Gas Infrastructure)
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Dr Mustapha Lamorde (Corporate Services and Administration)
Adama was appointed in 2024, while Adeniji, Ogaree and Lamorde were appointed between 2021 and 2022 under the Buhari administration.
Additional nominees include Yahaya Nasamu Yinusa (Distribution Systems), Adeyemi Murtala Aminu (Corporate Services), Modie Ogechukwu (Economic Regulation and Strategic Planning), and Olawale Dawodu as board secretary and legal adviser. Dawodu is a seasoned industry professional and former financial reporting manager at ExxonMobil’s Nigerian subsidiaries.
President Tinubu urged the Senate to expedite action on the confirmations, stressing the need for professionalism and accountability in regulating the oil and gas sector.
The requests come shortly after the Senate confirmed Oritsemeyiwa Eyesan as CEO of the NUPRC and Engineer Saidu Aliyu Mohammed as CEO of the NMDPRA.
