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President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has forwarded the names of two new chief executives to the Senate for confirmation following the resignation of the heads of Nigeria’s key petroleum regulatory agencies.

In a letter to the upper chamber, the President sought approval for the appointment 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).

The nominations come on the heels of the resignations of Engineer Farouk Ahmed, former CEO of NMDPRA, and Gbenga Komolafe, former CEO of NUPRC. Both officials were appointed in 2021 by former President Muhammadu Buhari following the establishment of the two agencies under the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA).

President Tinubu requested the Senate to expedite the confirmation process, noting the strategic importance of the agencies to the effective regulation and reform of Nigeria’s oil and gas sector.

Eyesan brings nearly 33 years of experience in the industry, having served extensively within the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) and its subsidiaries. A graduate of Economics from the University of Benin, she retired in 2024 as Executive Vice President, Upstream, after previously serving as Group General Manager, Corporate Planning and Strategy from 2019 to 2023.

Engineer Saidu Aliyu Mohammed, a Chemical Engineering graduate of Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, is a veteran oil and gas executive with decades of leadership experience. Born in 1957 in Gombe State, he has held several strategic positions including Managing Director of the Kaduna Refining and Petrochemical Company and the Nigerian Gas Company. He was also recently announced as an independent non-executive director at Seplat Energy.

His past roles include chairmanship of the boards of the West African Gas Pipeline Company, Nigeria LNG subsidiaries, and NNPC Retail, as well as serving as Group Executive Director/Chief Operating Officer, Gas and Power Directorate. In that capacity, he played key roles in shaping major gas policies and infrastructure projects, including the Gas Masterplan, Gas Network Code, and contributions to the Petroleum Industry Act.

Engineer Mohammed also contributed to the delivery of critical national projects such as the Escravos–Lagos Pipeline Expansion, the Ajaokuta–Kaduna–Kano (AKK) Gas Pipeline, and the Nigeria LNG Train project.

The nominations signal a new phase in the leadership of Nigeria’s petroleum regulatory framework as the Tinubu administration moves to strengthen governance and performance in the sector.