ABUJA, Dec. 17, 2025 (Naija247news) – Farouk Ahmed has resigned as Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA), just three days after public allegations linked to Dangote Refinery plunged the agency into national controversy.
Ahmed’s exit follows a corruption petition filed by Aliko Dangote, President and Chief Executive Officer of Dangote Industries Limited, to the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC). The petition accuses the NMDPRA chief of abuse of office, corrupt enrichment, and unlawful diversion of public funds.
The resignation was announced Tuesday by the State House, alongside the departure of Gbenga Komolafe as Chief Executive of the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC). Both officials were appointed in 2021 by former President Muhammadu Buhari to lead the twin regulators created under the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA).
President Bola Tinubu has nominated two replacements and requested expedited Senate confirmation, signaling urgency in stabilising oversight of Nigeria’s petroleum sector.
Engineer Saidu Aliyu Mohammed, a 68-year-old oil and gas veteran with more than four decades of industry experience, has been nominated to replace Ahmed at the NMDPRA. Meanwhile, Oritsemeyiwa Amanorisewo Eyesan, a former Executive Vice President for Upstream at the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL), has been named to take over leadership of the NUPRC, subject to Senate approval.
The presidential statement did not reference the Dangote-related controversy, which has dominated public and industry discourse in recent days amid escalating tensions between regulators and Africa’s largest refinery.
Ahmed’s tenure at the NMDPRA coincided with a pivotal transition in Nigeria’s refining landscape, including regulatory oversight of private refinery development, most notably the 650,000 barrels-per-day Dangote Refinery in Lagos.
Profiles of the Nominees
Engineer Mohammed is a 1981 Chemical Engineering graduate of Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria. He previously served as Managing Director of Kaduna Refining and Petrochemical Company and Nigerian Gas Company, and held leadership roles across Nigeria’s gas value chain.
His career includes chairmanship positions at the West African Gas Pipeline Company and Nigeria LNG subsidiaries, as well as service as Group Executive Director and Chief Operating Officer of NNPC’s Gas and Power Directorate. In that role, he oversaw major infrastructure projects including the Escravos-Lagos Pipeline Expansion and the Ajaokuta-Kaduna-Kano gas pipeline.
Mohammed was announced on Tuesday as an independent non-executive director at Seplat Energy, a position he is expected to vacate if his NMDPRA appointment is confirmed.
Eyesan, an Economics graduate of the University of Benin, spent nearly 33 years at NNPC and its subsidiaries. She served as Group General Manager for Corporate Planning and Strategy from 2019 to 2023 before becoming Executive Vice President for Upstream, a role she held until her retirement in 2024.
Unprecedented Regulatory Shake-Up
The simultaneous exit of both petroleum regulatory chiefs is unprecedented since the establishment of the agencies under the PIA, prompting questions within industry circles about coordination, timing, and political calculations behind the move.
Energy analysts note that the leadership changes come at a critical moment, as Nigeria grapples with fuel subsidy removal, foreign exchange pressures, and the integration of large-scale private refining capacity into the domestic market.
The Senate is expected to schedule confirmation hearings for both nominees in the coming weeks.
Emma Tochi ✔
Godwin Okafor is the Publisher & CEO of Naija247news Media Group LLC, an independent investigative news platform delivering accurate, data-driven reporting on Nigerian and global politics, economy, finance, and business. Founded in October 2010, Naija247news specializes in developmental journalism, providing timely insights and analysis to readers across Nigeria and the diaspora.
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