Tinubu nominates Magnus Abe, 20 others as NUPRC, NMDPRA board members
No fewer than 21 nominees for the boards of the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA) and the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) have been sent by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to the Senate for confirmation.
Tinubu, in a statement by presidential spokesperson Bayo Onanuga, said on Monday that two letters were forwarded were communicated to the senate.
The latest requests followed the recent appointment of Oritsemeyiwa Eyesan as the chief executive officer (CEO) of the NUPRC and Saidu Mohammed as CEO of NMDPRA.
In the first letter, Tinubu nominated Magnus Abe, a former senator, to serve as the NUPRC board chair.
“Abe, who represented Rivers South East in the Senate for two terms, is a former NNPC board member and current chairman of the National Agency of the Great Green Wall,” the statement reads.
The statement furthered that other nominees for the NUPRC board include Paul Jezhi, a former Trade Union Congress (TUC) chairman in Kaduna, and Sunday Babalola, a former deputy director of the defunct Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR).
“Both men will serve as non-executive commissioners,” he said.
According to the statement, Tinubu also nominated executive commissioners to the board, including Muhammed Sabo Lamido, who will serve as executive commissioner for finance; Edu Inyang, executive commissioner for exploration and acreage, and Justin Ezeala, executive commissioner for economic regulation and strategic planning.
Other nominees are Henry Darlington Oki (executive commissioner for development and production), Indabawa Bashari Alka (executive commissioner for corporate services and administration), Mahmood Tijani (executive commissioner for health, safety and environment), and Olayemi Adeboyejo (secretary and legal adviser).
“Former President Buhari appointed Lamido and Adeboyejo in 2022, while President Tinubu appointed Alka in 2023. Inyang, Ezeala, the former managing director of Nigerian Gas Marketing Limited, Mahmood Tijani, Babalola and Jezhi are new appointees of President Tinubu,” Onanuga said.
However, in Tinubu’s second letter to the senate, also nominated Adegbite Ebiowei Adeniji, a lawyer, as chairman of the NMDPRA board.
“Adeniji has over 30 years of experience in energy and natural resources issues. He was a special technical adviser to the Minister of State for Petroleum on upstream and gas until 2018,” the statement further reads.
“He was a member of the Oil & Gas Policy team at the World Bank, which advised the Government of Nigeria on the reform and restructuring of the petroleum sector, including the development of the Strategic Gas Plan for Nigeria. He is currently the managing partner at ENR Advisory.”
Onanuga said Tinubu also nominated Kenneth Kobani and Asabe Ahmed as non-executive members.
Kobani is reportedly a former minister of state for trade under the former President Goodluck Jonathan administration and secretary to the government of Rivers state, under Nyesom Wike.
“Also nominated for confirmation are Abiodun Adeniji, executive director of finance; Francis Ogaree, executive director of hydrocarbon; Oluwole Adama, executive director of midstream and Downstream gas infrastructure; and Dr Mustapha Lamorde, executive director of Corporate Services and Administration,” he said.
“President Tinubu appointed Adama in 2024, while late President Buhari appointed Lamorde and Adeniji in 2021 and Ogaree in 2022.
“Other members of the NMDPRA board, as proposed by President Tinubu, are Mr Yahaya Nasamu Yinusa, executive director, distribution systems; Adeyemi Murtala Aminu, executive director, corporate services; Ms Modie Ogechukwu, executive director, economic regulation and strategic planning; and Barrister Olawale Dawodu, as board secretary and legal adviser.”
Dawodu was said to have previously served as a financial reporting manager at Exxon’s Nigerian subsidiaries.
