Tinubu Seeks Senate Confirmation for 21 Nominees to NUPRC, NMDPRA Boards

President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has asked the Senate to confirm 21 nominees for the governing boards of the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) and the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA).

In two separate letters to the National Assembly, the President said the nominations are part of ongoing efforts to strengthen regulation and governance in Nigeria’s oil and gas sector following recent leadership changes in both agencies.

For the NUPRC, President Tinubu nominated former senator and ex-NNPC board member, Magnus Abe, as board chairman. Abe represented Rivers South East in the Senate for two terms and currently chairs the National Agency of the Great Green Wall.

Also nominated as non-executive commissioners are Engineer Paul Yaro Jezhi, a former Trade Union Congress chairman in Kaduna State, and Sunday Adebayo Babalola, a former deputy director at the defunct Department of Petroleum Resources.

The President named several executive commissioners to the NUPRC board, including Muhammed Sabo Lamido for finance; Edu Inyang for exploration and acreage; Justin Ezeala for economic regulation and strategic planning; and Henry Darlington Oki for development and production. Others are Indabawa Bashari Alka for corporate services and administration, Mahmood Tijani for health, safety and environment, and Olayemi Adeboyejo as secretary and legal adviser.

Some of the nominees, including Lamido and Adeboyejo, were first appointed under former President Muhammadu Buhari, while Alka was appointed by President Tinubu in 2023. Others are fresh appointees.

In a separate request, the President nominated Adegbite Ebiowei Adeniji as chairman of the NMDPRA board. Adeniji is a lawyer with over three decades of experience in energy and natural resources and previously served as a technical adviser to the Minister of State for Petroleum. He has also worked with the World Bank on Nigeria’s oil and gas sector reforms.

Other nominees to the NMDPRA board include Chief Kenneth Kobani and Mrs Asabe Ahmed as non-executive members. Kobani is a former minister of state for trade and a former secretary to the Rivers State government.

Executive directors nominated include Abiodun Adeniji for finance, Francis Ogaree for hydrocarbon, Oluwole Adama for midstream and downstream gas infrastructure, and Dr Mustapha Lamorde for corporate services and administration, alongside other board members and the board secretary.

President Tinubu urged the Senate to consider and approve the nominations without delay. The requests follow the recent confirmation of Oritsemeyiwa Eyesan as CEO of NUPRC and Engineer Saidu Aliyu Mohammed as CEO of NMDPRA.

The President has charged all nominees to carry out their duties professionally in regulating the nation’s oil and gas industry.