By Bassey Udo
The muted lingering crisis that smouldered across the petroleum industry more than two years ago since the coming to office of the present administration culminated in a full blow out on Wednesday, claiming as casualties the leadership of the two apex regulatory agencies in the sector.
Both the Authority Chief Executive (ACE), Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA), Engineer Farouk Ahmed, who was in charge of the downstream sector, and the Commission Chief Executive (CCE), Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC), Engineer Gbenga Komolafe, in charge of the upstream sector, announced their immediate resignations from office on Wednesday in controversial circumstances.
Although Engineer Ahmed’s resignation from the NMDPRA could easily be linked to his recent face-off with the President, Dangote Industries Limited (DIL), who is also the owner of Dangote Refinery and Petrochemical Limited, Alhaji Aliko Dangote, over allegations of economic sabotage, corruption and abuse of office, the decision by his counterpart in the NUPRC, Engineer Komolafe, took industry watchers by surprise, as no immediate explanation could be given for his action.
A Presidency statement announcing the two resignations posted on the official Twitter (X) handle of the Special Adviser to the President (Information and Strategy), Bayo Onanuga, said President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has already asked the leadership of the Senate to approve the nominations of new successors to the two offices.
Onanuga said President Tinubu’s requests followed the resignations of Engineers Ahmed and Komolafe from the NMDPRA and NUPRC respectively.
Both officials were appointed in 2021 by former President Muhammadu Buhari to lead the two regulatory agencies in the petroleum industry created to monitor and regulate the midstream/downstream and the upstream sectors in the wake of the enactment of the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) 2021.
“To fill these positions, President Tinubu has written to the Senate, requesting expedited confirmation of Oritsemeyiwa Amanorisewo Eyesan as CEO of NUPRC and Engineer Saidu Aliyu Mohammed as CEO of NMDPRA,* the statement from the Presidency said.
The statement described the two nominees as seasoned professionals in the oil and gas industry.
Eyesan, a graduate of Economics from the University of Benin, spent nearly 33 years with the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited and its subsidiaries before retiring as Executive Vice President, Upstream (2023–2024).
Previously, she served as Group General Manager, Corporate Planning and Strategy at the NNPC between 2019 and 2023.
Similarly, Engineer Saidu Aliyu Mohammed, who was born in 1957 in Gombe, graduated from the Ahmadu Bello University in 1981 with a Bachelor’s in Chemical Engineering.
Until latest appointment on Wednesday, he was an independent non-executive director at Seplat Energy.
He worked previously as Managing Director of two NNPC subsidiaries, including the Kaduna Refining and Petrochemical Company (KRPC) and Nigerian Gas Company (NGC), as well as Chair of the boards of the West African Gas Pipeline Company (WAGPC), Nigeria LNG subsidiaries, and NNPC Retail.
Engineer Mohammed also served as the Group Executive Director/Chief Operating Officer, Gas & Power Directorate, where he provided strategic leadership for major gas projects and policy frameworks, including the Gas Masterplan, Gas Network Code, and contributions to the PIA.
He played a pivotal role in delivering key oil and gas projects, such as the Escravos–Lagos Pipeline Expansion, the Ajaokuta–Kaduna–Kano (AKK) Gas Pipeline, and Nigeria LNG Train 7.
On Sunday, Alhaji Dangote had accused the management of the NMDPRA of economic sabotage and called for the probe and prosecution of Engineer Ahmed for allegedly engaging in activities that undermined efforts of the Federal Government to achieve domestic refining in Nigeria, including his continued reckless issuance of import licences to marketers for the importation of petroleum products.
Dangote expressed serious concerns over the current state of the downstream sector of the petroleum industry, and accused Engineer Ahmed and the NMDPRA of colluding with international oil traders and importers to frustrate local refining in Nigeria.
Besides, Dangote accused Engineer Ahmed of living above means as a public officer, by spending about $5m on the payment of tuition for four of his children in schools in Switzerland.
Despite the damning allegations, Engineer Ahmed opted not to respond, saying through the spokesperson of the NMDPRA, George Ene-Ita, that he would not join issues with Dangote over his attacks on his person.
