Tinubu Appoints New Boards for Oil Regulatory Agencies

President Bola Tinubu has nominated former Rivers South-East Senator Magnus Abe as chairman of the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC), alongside 20 other nominees for boards of Nigeria’s key petroleum regulatory agencies, pending Senate confirmation.

In letters to the Senate on Monday, the President requested expedited approval for the appointments to the NUPRC and the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA).

Abe, a two-term senator for Rivers South-East, previously served on the board of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation and currently chairs the National Agency of the Great Green Wall. He will lead the NUPRC board, which includes non-executive commissioners Paul Jezhi, a former Trade Union Congress chairman in Kaduna, and Sunday Babalola, a former deputy director of the now-defunct Department of Petroleum Resources.

Seven executive commissioners were also nominated for the NUPRC board: Muhammed Lamido (finance), Edu Inyang (exploration and acreage), Justin Ezeala (economic regulation and strategic planning), Henry Oki (development and production), Indabawa Alka (corporate services and administration), Mahmood Tijani (health, safety, and environment), and Olayemi Adeboyejo (secretary and legal adviser). Lamido and Adeboyejo were first appointed in 2022 by former President Buhari, while Tinubu appointed Alka in 2023. The remaining nominees are new appointees.

For the NMDPRA board, Tinubu nominated Adegbite Adeniji, a lawyer with over 30 years of experience in energy and natural resources, as chairman. Adeniji previously served as special technical adviser to the Minister of State for Petroleum on upstream and gas and contributed to the World Bank’s Oil and Gas Policy team advising Nigeria on petroleum sector reforms, including the Strategic Gas Plan. He currently leads ENR Advisory as managing partner.

Other NMDPRA board nominees include Kenneth Kobani and Asabe Ahmed as non-executive members, and Abiodun Adeniji (finance), Francis Ogaree (hydrocarbon), Oluwole Adama (midstream and downstream gas infrastructure), Dr. Mustapha Lamorde (corporate services and administration), Yahaya Yinusa (distribution systems), Adeyemi Aminu (corporate services), Modie Ogechukwu (economic regulation and strategic planning), and Olawale Dawodu (board secretary and legal adviser). Some members were previously appointed under former administrations, while others are new nominees.

The presidential nominations follow the Senate’s recent confirmation of the chief executives of the two agencies: Oritsemeyiwa Eyesan as CEO of NUPRC and Saidu Aliyu Mohammed as CEO of NMDPRA. Both bodies were established under the Petroleum Industry Act of 2021, which restructured Nigeria’s petroleum sector governance.

President Tinubu tasked all nominees with performing their duties professionally, highlighting the critical role of effective oversight in the nation’s oil and gas sector. The Senate is expected to screen the nominees in the coming weeks before formal confirmation.