President Bola Tinubu has put forward former Rivers South-East Senator Magnus Abe for the position of chairman of the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission, requesting the Senate’s approval for him and 20 additional nominees to join the boards of the two major petroleum regulatory bodies.
In individual letters to the Senate on Monday, the President sought fast-tracked approval for the board members of the NUPRC and the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority.
Abe, who served two terms in the Senate for Rivers South-East, was formerly a board member of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation and is now the chairperson of the National Agency of the Great Green Wall.
As per a declaration from Bayo Onanuga, the Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Abe will head the NUPRC board with other non-executive commissioners like Paul Jezhi, a past Trade Union Congress chairman in Kaduna, and Sunday Babalola, a former deputy director of the now-defunct Department of Petroleum Resources.
The President nominated seven executive commissioners to the NUPRC board: Muhammed Lamido as executive commissioner for finance, Edu Inyang for exploration and acreage, Justin Ezeala for economic regulation and strategic planning, and Henry Oki for development and production.
Indabawa Alka handles corporate services and administration; Mahmood Tijani oversees health, safety, and environment; and Olayemi Adeboyejo serves as the secretary and legal adviser.
Lamido and Adeboyejo were first designated by former President Muhammadu Buhari in 2022, while Tinubu assigned Alka in 2023.
Inyang, Ezeala, previously the managing director of Nigerian Gas Marketing Limited, Tijani, Babalola, and Jezhi are recent appointees.
President Tinubu nominated Adegbite Adeniji, a lawyer with more than 30 years of experience in energy and natural resources, as chairman for the NMDPRA board.
Adeniji was formerly a special technical adviser to the Minister of State for Petroleum, focusing on upstream and gas until 2018, and participated in the World Bank’s Oil & Gas Policy team that counseled the Nigerian government on reforms in the petroleum sector, which included the formulation of the Strategic Gas Plan for Nigeria. He is presently the managing partner at ENR Advisory.
The President nominated Kenneth Kobani, a past minister of state for trade during President Goodluck Jonathan’s term and former secretary to the Rivers State government under Nyesom Wike, along with Asabe Ahmed, as non-executive members of the NMDPRA board.
Other nominees for the NMDPRA board are Abiodun Adeniji as executive director of finance, Francis Ogaree for hydrocarbon, Oluwole Adama for midstream and downstream gas infrastructure, and Dr. Mustapha Lamorde for corporate services and administration.
In 2024, Tinubu designated Adama, while former President Buhari appointed Lamorde and Adeniji in 2021 and Ogaree in 2022.
Dawodu, a seasoned professional, held the position of financial reporting manager at Exxon’s Nigerian subsidiaries.
The presidential appeals come after the Senate’s recent approval of chief executives for the two regulatory bodies.
Oritsemeyiwa Eyesan was appointed CEO of NUPRC, whereas Saidu Aliyu Mohammed was granted approval as CEO of NMDPRA.
The Petroleum Industry Act of 2021 established both regulatory authorities, dissolved the Department of Petroleum Resources, and reconfigured the governance framework of Nigeria’s petroleum sector.
President Tinubu urged all appointees and nominees to fulfill their duties and responsibilities professionally as overseers of the oil and gas sectors, highlighting the critical importance of proper supervision in the country’s petroleum industry.
The Senate is anticipated to review the nominees in the weeks ahead prior to official confirmation ballots.
