President Bola Tinubu has nominated former Rivers South-East senator Magnus Abe as chairman of the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC)
In addition, the president forwarded 20 other nominees to the Senate for confirmation to serve on the boards of the NUPRC and the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA). Presidential spokesman Bayo Onanuga said the president urged the Senate to expedite the approval of the board members.
A two-term lawmaker, Abe previously served on the board of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) and currently chairs the National Agency for the Great Green Wall.
Other NUPRC nominees include Paul Yaro Jezhi, former Trade Union Congress (TUC) chairman in Kaduna State, and Sunday Adebayo Babalola, a former deputy director at the now-defunct Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR), both nominated as non-executive commissioners.
Executive appointments for the NUPRC board are Muhammed Sabo Lamido (finance), Edu Inyang (exploration and acreage), Justin Ezeala (economic regulation and strategic planning), Henry Darlington Oki (development and production), Indabawa Bashari Alka (corporate services and administration), and Mahmood Tijani (health, safety, and environment). Olayemi Adeboyejo was nominated as secretary and legal adviser.
While Lamido and Adeboyejo were appointed in 2022 under former President Muhammadu Buhari and Alka in 2023 by Tinubu, Inyang, Ezeala, Tijani, Babalola, and Jezhi are fresh nominations.
For the NMDPRA board, Tinubu nominated Adegbite Ebiowei 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 and was part of the World Bank Oil and Gas Policy team advising Nigeria on sector reforms. He is currently managing partner at ENR Advisory.
Other NMDPRA nominees include Kenneth Kobani and Asabe Ahmed as non-executive members. Executive directors nominated are Abiodun Adeniji (finance), Francis Ogaree (hydrocarbon processing plants), Oluwole Adama (midstream and downstream gas infrastructure), Mustapha Lamorde (corporate services and administration), Yahaya Nasamu Yinusa (distribution systems), Adeyemi Murtala Aminu (corporate services), Modie Ogechukwu (economic regulation and strategic planning), and Olawale Dawodu (board secretary and legal adviser).
The nominations follow the recent confirmation of Oritsemeyiwa Eyesan as CEO of NUPRC and Saidu Aliyu Mohammed as CEO of NMDPRA. Tinubu charged all appointees to carry out their duties professionally in regulating Nigeria’s oil and gas sector.
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