•Saidu Mohammed heads downstream/midstream, Oritsemeyiwa Eyesan leads upstream
• Tinubu seeks Senate’s confirmation for new picks
•NBA demands probe despite Ahmed’s resignation
Deji Elumoye and Emmanuel Addeh in Abuja and Wale Igbintade in Lagos
In an unexpected turn of events, the Presidency yesterday announced the resignation of the Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA), Farouk Ahmed, as well as the his counterpart at the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC), Gbenga Komolafe.
In their place, President Bola Tinubu asked the Senate to approve the nominations of two new chief executives for the NMDPRA and the NUPRC, namely: Saidu Aliyu Mohammed and Oritsemeyiwa Eyesan respectively.
Both officials who ‘resigned’ left their positions ahead of the expiry of their tenures next year, having been appointed in 2021 by former President Muhammadu Buhari to lead the two regulatory agencies created by the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA).
Specifically, the Presidency made the announcement shortly after meeting behind closed doors with the embattled erstwhile CEO of the NMDPRA, Ahmed, at the State House, Abuja.
The meeting took place against the backdrop of mounting allegations against the former petroleum regulator, Ahmed, by renowned industrialist and President of Dangote Group, Alhaji Aliko Dangote.
Ahmed who arrived at the State House at about 5:30pm left the President’s first floor office in less than 30 minutes at about 5.55 pm and refused to speak with newsmen as he exited the Villa offering no comment on the allegations or the outcome of his meeting with the President, THISDAY observed.
Dangote in recent times has been locked in a public dispute over Nigeria’s downstream petroleum regulator and the future of domestic refining, with Africa’s richest person accusing him of sleaze and economic sabotage as well as undermining local refining capacity in Nigeria.
Dangote maintained that the continued issuance of import licences for petroleum products, despite in-country capacity was frustrating domestic refiners and entrenching dependence on imports.
He further alleged that the NMDPRA was colluding with international traders and oil importers to the detriment of local operators, a charge the regulatory chief had yet to publicly address before his removal, and for which he had been invited by federal lawmakers.
Besides, the billionaire businessman raised personal allegations against the NMDPRA chief, claiming that Ahmed was living beyond his legitimate means and claiming that four of his children attend secondary schools in Switzerland at a cost running into about $7 million.
Dangote argued that such expenditure raised questions about potential conflicts of interest and the integrity of regulatory oversight in the downstream petroleum sector, and eventually submitted a petition to the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC), calling for Ahmed’s arrest, investigation and prosecution.
Perhaps, even more shocking was the ‘resignation’ of the NUPRC chief, Komolafe, the pioneer head of the upstream commission since 2021, with an initial term of five years, which was expected to run out next year.
Komolafe’s tenure has been marked by a series of reforms, touching on regulatory transparency, industry performance, investment confidence, community development, and international engagement.
Under him, Nigeria’s active drilling rig counts surged from just eight in 2021 to almost 70 by October 2025, reflecting renewed exploration and production interest. The regulatory environment has fostered investment approval and capital inflows, with dozens of Field Development Plans (FDPs) worth billions of dollars sanctioned, boosting Nigeria’s energy infrastructure and production potential.
He also oversaw the development and implementation of key regulatory frameworks, leading to the reduction of crude theft as well as expansion of the Host Community Development Trust framework, channeling funds into community infrastructure and social services.
However, a statement by the Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, stated that the two new nominees are seasoned professionals in the oil and gas industry.
Following the ‘resignations’ the President has, therefore, asked the Senate to confirm the nominations of the two new chief executives to fill the positions, requesting expedited confirmation of Eyesan as CEO of NUPRC and Mohammed as head of the NMDPRA.
Oritsemeyiwa Eyesan, a graduate of Economics from the University of Benin, spent nearly 33 years with the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC) and its subsidiaries. She retired as Executive Vice President, Upstream between 2023 and 2024, and previously served as Group General Manager, Corporate Planning and Strategy at NNPC from 2019 to 2023.
On the other hand, Saidu Mohammed, born in 1957 in Gombe, graduated from Ahmadu Bello University in 1981 with a Bachelor’s in Chemical Engineering. Coincidentally, he was also announced yesterday as an independent non-executive director at Seplat Energy.
His prior roles include Managing Director of Kaduna Refining and Petrochemical Company and Nigerian Gas Company, as well as Chair of the boards of West African Gas Pipeline Company, Nigeria LNG subsidiaries, and NNPC Retail.
He also served as Group Executive Director/Chief Operating Officer, Gas & Power Directorate, where, according to the Presidency, he provided strategic leadership for major gas projects and policy frameworks, including the Gas Masterplan, Gas Network Code, and contributions to the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA).
Mohammed, the statement said, played a pivotal role in delivering key projects such as the Escravos–Lagos Pipeline Expansion, the Ajaokuta–Kaduna–Kano (AKK) Gas Pipeline, and Nigeria LNG Train, the statement stressed.
NBA Demands Probe Despite Ahmed’s Resignation
Also yesterday, the President of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), Afam Osigwe (SAN), insisted that serious allegations, including forgery and false asset declarations, must be thoroughly investigated and should not be allowed to end with the resignation or removal of a public officer.
Osigwe made the remarks in the wake of the resignation of Ahmed, following corruption allegations levelled against him by the Chairman of the Dangote Group, Dangote.
Speaking during on Channels TV Politics Today, the NBA president warned that allowing high-profile officials to quietly leave office without accountability weakens institutions and entrenches a culture of impunity. He stressed that resignation does not amount to exoneration and must not be treated as closure.
“Allegations of this nature are too weighty to be used merely as tools for political expediency or administrative convenience. Once such claims are made, there is a public duty to investigate them to their logical conclusion, either to clear the individual’s name or to establish guilt based on credible evidence,” Osigwe said.
He added: “We have said this before in similar cases. When weighty allegations such as forgery or false declarations are raised, there ought to be an investigation. People should present documents, and where others are complicit, they too should be held accountable.”
Osigwe cautioned against a pattern in which allegations surface, a resignation follows, and public interest fades without any transparent inquiry. Such an approach, he noted, creates the impression that allegations are weaponised simply to remove someone from office, after which no one genuinely seeks the truth.
He emphasised that accountability processes must be driven by a sincere desire to uphold the rule of law, not by political manoeuvring or attempts to give one party an advantage in regulatory or commercial disputes.
Politicising serious accusations, he warned, reduces them to power plays and undermines public confidence in governance and justice.
While declining to take sides in the specific controversy, Osigwe said perceptions of corruption can sometimes be as damaging as proven misconduct, making it all the more important for allegations to be properly examined.
Failure to investigate, he added, harms not only the individuals involved but also the credibility of public institutions. “Building strong institutions requires consistency, transparency, and follow-through in handling allegations against public officers. This is how institutions are built and how we prevent such issues from recurring,” he said.
Osigwe maintained that Nigeria’s anti-corruption efforts would remain superficial unless allegations are followed by credible investigations and, where necessary, prosecution. He stressed that accountability must go beyond symbolic gestures to demonstrable outcomes.
Dispute Threatens Nigeria’s Economic Sovereignty, Agbakoba Warns
Meanwhile, a former NBA President, Olisa Agbakoba (SAN), has warned that the ongoing dispute between Dangote Petroleum Refinery and the NMDPRA goes beyond a commercial or regulatory disagreement, raising fundamental questions about Nigeria’s economic sovereignty and constitutional management of its hydrocarbon resources.
In a press statement issued yesterday, titled: “The Dangote Refinery–NMDPRA Dispute: Beyond Commercial Disagreement to Questions of Economic Sovereignty”, Agbakoba said the impasse highlights deeper contradictions in Nigeria’s petroleum governance framework.
According to the statement, the controversy surrounding Africa’s largest refinery, built at an estimated cost of $20 billion—reveals a striking paradox: Nigeria now has world-class refining capacity yet remains heavily dependent on imported petroleum products.
He noted that a private investor has delivered infrastructure long absent in the country but now faces regulatory obstacles from an authority whose mandate includes promoting efficiency, investment, and growth in the downstream sector.
“The issue at stake transcends commercial disagreement,” the statement said, describing the situation as one that strikes “at the heart of a fundamental development question: the sovereignty of Nigeria’s governance process over its hydrocarbon resources.”
Agbakoba criticised policy inconsistencies, particularly the reported difficulty domestic refineries face in securing crude oil feedstock while licenses for imported refined products continue to be issued.
He argued that such outcomes undermine local value addition, sustain foreign exchange pressures, and entrench Nigeria’s long-standing dependence on fuel imports. He warned that the dispute reflects a broader structural problem in Nigeria’s oil sector, described as continued reliance on a “Contract Oil” model.
Under this system, crude oil is largely treated as an export commodity, while refining, job creation, and industrial development are outsourced to foreign economies. As a result, Nigeria exports raw crude only to import refined products at premium prices, perpetuating economic dependency and denying the country the full benefits of its natural resources.
This approach, the statement argued, has contributed to decades of underdevelopment and vulnerability to global energy market shocks. In contrast, Agbakoba highlighted Saudi Arabia’s petroleum governance model, described as “Development Oil.”
Saudi Arabia, he said, prioritises domestic refining, downstream integration, and control of the petroleum value chain, avoiding policies that undermine local capacity. By comparison, Nigeria, despite being Africa’s largest oil producer, lacks similar downstream control, including ownership of a national tanker fleet.
Agbakoba cited Section 44(3) of the 1999 Constitution, which vests ownership and control of oil and gas resources in the federal government to be managed for the welfare and security of Nigerian citizens.
He argued that regulatory actions that frustrate investments capable of creating jobs, reducing import dependence, and strengthening local capacity may amount to a breach of this constitutional obligation.
