Tinubu sets up petroleum reform taskforce, appoints GTB co-founder Adeola as chairman

President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has established a Presidential Petroleum Reform and Value Optimisation Taskforce to design and coordinate the next phase of structural reforms in Nigeria’s petroleum sector.

The President appointed Fola Adeola, co-founder of Guaranty Trust Bank and founder of Fate Foundation, as chairman of the taskforce.

A statement issued on Friday by the Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, disclosed that the taskforce would operate as a time-bound, high-level executive working group tasked with producing execution-ready reform blueprints for the petroleum sector.

Other members of the taskforce include Ademola Adeyemi-Bero, Osagie Okunbor, Abubakar Suleiman, Adaeze Aguele, Farouk Gumel, Phillipa Osakwe-Okoye, and Seyi Bella, while Mofoluwasho Fadayomi will serve as secretary.

According to the statement, the taskforce is expected to consolidate ongoing reforms, unlock capital within the petroleum sector, and strengthen Nigeria’s position as a leading global destination for energy investment.

“The initiative reflects the President’s commitment to transforming Nigeria’s petroleum industry into a more competitive, transparent, and value-maximising sector capable of driving long-term economic growth, macroeconomic resilience, and industrial development,” the statement said.

The taskforce will function as a technical reform body rather than a representative committee, engaging industry operators, regulators, investors, and civil society as consultees while focusing on actionable policy design and implementation strategies.

It will report directly to the President and provide monthly progress memoranda, with an interim report expected after three months and final outputs to be delivered within six months of inauguration.

President Tinubu has mandated the taskforce to produce three major reform blueprints. The first is the Implementation Toolkit for Immediate Structural Fixes, which will include draft legislative amendments, executive instruments, and institutional restructuring proposals.

The second deliverable is the Capital and Liquidity Acceleration Blueprint, aimed at unlocking between $5 billion and $10 billion in sectoral liquidity while safeguarding Nigeria’s sovereign interests.

The third blueprint will focus on the National Energy Transformation Strategy, a 10-year roadmap with measurable targets for production, foreign exchange earnings, GDP contribution, and cost competitiveness.

The President also directed all Ministries, Departments, Agencies, regulators, and relevant institutions to provide full technical support to the taskforce and submit inventories of ongoing initiatives to ensure alignment with the emerging reform framework.

He further instructed existing committees, teams, and working groups operating under various reform initiatives within the petroleum sector to align their activities, reporting structures, and work programmes with the new taskforce.

“The streamlining will ensure coordination, avoid duplication of mandates, and provide institutional clarity, thereby ensuring coherence in the petroleum sector reform architecture,” the statement added.

Onanuga described the creation of the taskforce as “a strategic presidential instrument to accelerate petroleum sector reforms, strengthen governance architecture, optimise national energy assets, and position Nigeria’s petroleum resources as a foundation for sustainable economic transformation.”

The taskforce will automatically dissolve upon submission and acceptance of its final report.

Adeola, a chartered accountant and entrepreneur, co-founded Guaranty Trust Bank in 1990 and served as its pioneer managing director until 2002. He later established the Fate Foundation in 2000 to promote entrepreneurship and wealth creation in Nigeria.

Nigeria’s petroleum sector has undergone significant reforms under President Tinubu’s administration, including the removal of petrol subsidy and efforts aimed at boosting crude oil production and strengthening the country’s energy investment outlook.