President Bola Tinubu has sacked Saidu Mohammed as the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA) while he was on official duty in Germany.
According to a post by the oil industry regulator on X on Wednesday at 4:05 p.m., Mohammed had led delegates from the NMDPRA to the Pipeline Technology Conference taking place in Berlin.
“The Authority Chief Executive, Engr. Saidu Mohammed, leads NMDPRA delegates to the Pipeline Technology Conference taking place in Berlin, Germany, from April 27 to 30, 2026,” the NMDPRA said.
Two hours after the post was made, Bayo Onanuga, Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, announced that Tinubu had removed Mohammed as NMDPRA CEO and replaced him with Rabiu Abdullahi Umar.
Mohammed was sacked five months after withdrawing his decision to join the board of Seplat Energy as an independent non-executive director in December 2025 to lead the NMDPRA.
Tinubu had announced Mohammed as NMDPRA’s CEO after Farouk Ahmed’s resignation on December 17, the same day Seplat disclosed he would be joining the company’s board.
Following his short tenure, Onanuga said Tinubu thanked Mohammed for his service and wished him well in his future endeavours.
The spokesperson added that Tinubu is committed to ensuring capable leadership in key regulatory institutions to advance energy security, sector reform, and sustainable economic growth.
In November 2025, Tinubu also removed Ogbonnaya Orji from his position as Executive Secretary of the Nigeria Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative while he was away on a foreign trip.
