The Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA), Engineer Farouk Ahmed, and the Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC), Gbenga Komolafe, have resigned from their positions.
The resignation of the duo may not be unconnected to a petition to the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC), demanding a full investigation into alleged abuse of office and corrupt enrichment by Ahmed Farouk.
Following their resignation, President Bola Tinubu has forwarded to the Senate the names of two nominees to head Nigeria’s key petroleum regulatory agencies following the resignation of their current chief executives.
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The nominations were conveyed in a statement signed by the President’s Special Adviser on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, dated December 17, 2025.
In separate letters to the upper chamber, the President sought expedited confirmation of Oritsemeyiwa Amanorisewo Eyesan as Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) and Engineer Saidu Aliyu Mohammed as Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA).
Eyesan is a veteran of Nigeria’s oil and gas sector, with nearly 33 years of experience at the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC) and its subsidiaries. A graduate of Economics from the University of Benin, she retired in 2024 as Executive Vice President, Upstream, after earlier serving as Group General Manager, Corporate Planning and Strategy between 2019 and 2023.
Engineer Mohammed, born in 1957 in Gombe State, holds a Bachelor’s degree in Chemical Engineering from Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, obtained in 1981. He was recently announced as an independent non-executive director at Seplat Energy.
His extensive career spans senior leadership roles across Nigeria’s energy value chain, including Managing Director of the Kaduna Refining and Petrochemical Company and the Nigerian Gas Company. He has also chaired the boards of the West African Gas Pipeline Company, Nigeria LNG subsidiaries, and NNPC Retail.
As Group Executive Director and Chief Operating Officer of the Gas and Power Directorate, Mohammed provided strategic leadership for major national gas initiatives and policy frameworks, including the Gas Masterplan, the Gas Network Code, and contributions to the development of the Petroleum Industry Act.
He played key roles in the delivery of landmark projects such as the Escravos–Lagos Pipeline Expansion, the Ajaokuta–Kaduna–Kano (AKK) Gas Pipeline, and Nigeria LNG Train developments.
