Nigeria’s President, Bola Ahmed Tinubu Sends 21 Nominees to the Senate for the NUPRC and NMDPRA Boards
Nigeria’s President Bola Tinubu has taken another major step in restructuring the nation’s oil and gas regulatory sector as he sends 21 nominees to the Senate for the NUPRC and NMDPRA boards. The President forwarded letters to the Senate seeking confirmation of the nominees for the boards of the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission and the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority.
The development was disclosed by the Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, on Tuesday. According to him, Tinubu sends 21 nominees to the Senate for NUPRC and NMDPRA boards as part of ongoing efforts to strengthen regulatory oversight in the petroleum industry.
In the first letter, Senator Magnus Abe was nominated as chairman of the NUPRC board. Abe is a two-term senator representing Rivers South East, a former NNPC board member, and currently serves as chairman of the National Agency of the Great Green Wall.
Other nominees for the NUPRC board include Engineer Paul Yaro Jezhi, a former Trade Union Congress chairman in Kaduna, and Mr. Sunday Adebayo Babalola, a former deputy director at the Department of Petroleum Resources. Both were nominated to serve as non-executive commissioners.
President Tinubu also nominated several executive commissioners for the NUPRC board. They include Muhammed Sabo Lamido for Finance, Mr. Edu Inyang for Exploration and Acreage, Justin Ezeala for Economic Regulation and Strategic Planning, Henry Darlington Oki for Development and Production, Indabawa Bashari Alka for Corporate Services and Administration, Mahmood Tijani for Health Safety and Environment, and Ms. Olayemi Adeboyejo as Secretary and Legal Adviser.
Some of the nominees were originally appointed by former President Muhammadu Buhari, while others are fresh appointments by President Tinubu. Alka was appointed by Tinubu in 2023, while Lamido and Adeboyejo were initially appointed during the Buhari administration.
In a separate letter, Tinubu sends 21 nominees to the Senate for NUPRC and NMDPRA boards by nominating Mr. Adegbite Ebiowei Adeniji as chairman of the NMDPRA board. Adeniji is a lawyer with over 30 years of experience in energy and natural resources and has served as Special Technical Adviser to the Minister of State for Petroleum.
Other nominees for the NMDPRA board include Chief Kenneth Kobani and Mrs. Asabe Ahmed as non-executive members. Executive members nominated are 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.
Additional board members include Mr. Yahaya Nasamu Yinusa for Distribution Systems, Adeyemi Murtala Aminu for Corporate Services, Ms. Modie Ogechukwu for Economic Regulation and Strategic Planning, and Barrister Olawale Dawodu as Secretary and Legal Adviser.
The president urged the Senate to confirm the nominees promptly following the recent appointments of new chief executives for both agencies. He also charged all the appointees to discharge their regulatory duties with professionalism to ensure effective oversight of Nigeria’s oil and gas sector.
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