Abuja, Jan. 5, 2026 (Naija247news) — President Bola Tinubu has formally written to the Senate seeking confirmation of 21 nominees for the boards of the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA) and the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC).
According to a statement released by Presidential Spokesperson Bayo Onanuga on Monday in Abuja, Tinubu nominated Senator Magnus Abe as Chairman of the NUPRC Board. Abe, a two-term representative of Rivers South-East Senatorial District and former board member of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, currently chairs the National Agency for the Great Green Wall.
Other nominees for the NUPRC Board as non-executive commissioners include Paul Jezhi, former Trade Union Congress Chairman in Kaduna State, and Sunday Babalola, former Deputy Director of the defunct Department of Petroleum Resources. Executive commissioners nominated include Muhammed Lamido (Finance), Edu Inyang (Exploration and Acreage), Justin Ezeala (Economic Regulation and Strategic Planning), Henry Oki (Development and Production), Indabawa Alka (Corporate Services and Administration), Mahmood Tijani (Health, Safety and Environment), and Olayemi Adeboyejo (Secretary/Legal Adviser).
Some nominees, including Lamido and Adeboyejo, were appointed in 2022 by former President Muhammadu Buhari, while Alka was appointed by Tinubu in 2023. Others, such as Inyang, Ezeala, Tijani, Babalola, and Jezhi, are newly nominated.
In a separate letter, President Tinubu nominated Adegbite Adeniji, a lawyer with over 30 years of 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 is currently Managing Partner at ENR Advisory.
Additional NMDPRA Board nominees include Chief Kenneth Kobani, former Minister of State for Trade and former Rivers State Secretary, Asabe Ahmed, Abiodun Adeniji (Executive Director, Finance), Francis Ogaree (Executive Director, Hydrocarbon), Oluwole Adama (Executive Director, Midstream and Downstream Gas Infrastructure), Mustapha Lamorde (Executive Director, Corporate Services and Administration), Yahaya Yinusa (Executive Director, Distribution Systems), Adeyemi Aminu (Executive Director, Corporate Services), Modie Ogechukwu (Executive Director, Economic Regulation and Strategic Planning), and Olawale Dawodu (Board Secretary/Legal Adviser).
President Tinubu urged the Senate to consider and approve the nominees swiftly, following the recent confirmation of Oritsemeyiwa Eyesan as CEO of NUPRC and Saidu Mohammed as CEO of NMDPRA. He charged all board members to execute their duties professionally to ensure effective regulation of Nigeria’s oil and gas sector.
Joshua Chinonye ✔
Joshua Chinonye is the Energy Editor at Naija247news, covering Nigeria’s oil, gas, and power sectors. He reports on energy policy, market trends, and sustainability with a focus on informing public discourse and decision-makers.
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