Tinubu Nominates 21 Board Members for NUPRC, NMDPRA, Seeks Senate Confirmation

President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has nominated 21 individuals for appointment into the governing boards of Nigeria’s key oil and gas regulatory agencies, the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) and the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA) and has requested expedited Senate confirmation.

The nominations, conveyed in two separate letters to the National Assembly, form part of the administration’s ongoing efforts to strengthen governance, regulation and oversight in Nigeria’s petroleum sector under the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA).

Magnus Abe nominated as NUPRC BOSS

In one of the letters, President Tinubu nominated Senator Magnus Abe, a former lawmaker who represented Rivers South-East Senatorial District for two terms, as Chairman of the NUPRC Board.

Abe is a former board member of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) and currently serves as Chairman of the National Agency of the Great Green Wall. His nomination signals a blend of political experience and sectoral exposure at the upstream regulator.

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

Seven Executive Commissioners Named for NUPRC

President Tinubu also forwarded the names of seven executive commissioners for Senate confirmation. They are:
Muhammed Sabo Lamido, Executive Commissioner, Finance
Edu Inyang, Executive Commissioner, Exploration and Acreage
Justin Ezeala, Executive Commissioner, Economic Regulation and Strategic Planning
Henry Darlington Oki, Executive Commissioner, Development and Production
Indabawa Bashari Alka, Executive Commissioner, Corporate Services and Administration
Mahmood Tijani, Executive Commissioner, Health, Safety and Environment
Ms Olayemi Adeboyejo, Secretary and Legal Adviser
While Lamido and Adeboyejo were first appointed in 2022 under former President Muhammadu Buhari, and Alka in 2023 under Tinubu, others on the list are new nominees of the current administration.

Tinubu Picks Adegbite Adeniji as NMDPRA Board Chairman
In a separate request to the Senate, President Tinubu nominated Mr Adegbite Ebiowei Adeniji, a legal practitioner with over 30 years’ experience in energy and natural resources, as Chairman of the NMDPRA Board.

Adeniji previously served as Special Technical Adviser to the Minister of State for Petroleum on upstream and gas matters and was part of the World Bank Oil and Gas Policy Team that advised Nigeria on petroleum sector reforms. He is currently Managing Partner at ENR Advisory.

Other non-executive nominees for the NMDPRA board are Chief Kenneth Kobani, a former Minister of State for Trade and former Secretary to the Rivers State Government, and Mrs Asabe Ahmed.

Full List of NMDPRA Executive Nominees
Executive directors nominated for confirmation include:
Abiodun Adeniji – Executive Director, Finance
Francis Ogaree – Executive Director, Hydrocarbon Processing Plants
Oluwole Adama – Executive Director, Midstream and Downstream Gas Infrastructure
Dr Mustapha Lamorde – Executive Director, Corporate Services and Administration
Additional nominees are Yahaya Nasamu Yinusa (Distribution Systems), Adeyemi Murtala Aminu (Corporate Services), Ms Modie Ogechukwu (Economic Regulation and Strategic Planning), and Barrister Olawale Dawodu as Board Secretary and Legal Adviser.

Senate Asked to Act Swiftly
President Tinubu urged the Senate to consider and approve the nominations expeditiously to ensure the effective take-off and performance of the boards.

The requests come shortly after the Senate confirmed Oritsemeyiwa Eyesan as Chief Executive Officer of the NUPRC and Engineer Saidu Aliyu Mohammed as Chief Executive Officer of the NMDPRA.
The President has charged all appointees to discharge their responsibilities professionally in line with Nigeria’s oil and gas regulatory framework.