Nigeria’s Senate has confirmed two critical appointments to lead the country’s petroleum regulatory agencies in a lightning-fast process that took less than 24 hours, moving swiftly to fill leadership vacancies left by resignations tied to explosive corruption allegations.
Oritsemeyiwa Amanorisewo Eyesan will take over as Chief Executive Officer of the Nigeria Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC), while Saidu Aliyu Mohammed assumes leadership of the Nigeria Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA).
The upper legislative chamber approved both nominees at plenary after the Joint Committees on Petroleum screened the candidates and recommended their confirmation.
President Bola Tinubu transmitted the nomination request to the Senate on Thursday, just one day after announcing the nominees to replace the former heads of both petroleum sector regulators who had recently resigned. The remarkable speed of the confirmations signals the government’s urgency in restoring stability to agencies that control licensing, regulation and revenue oversight for Nigeria’s massive oil and gas industry under the Petroleum Industry Act.
The new appointments come against the backdrop of a damaging corruption scandal involving the previous NMDPRA leadership. Africa’s richest man, Aliko Dangote, filed a formal petition with the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) against former NMDPRA boss Farouk Ahmed, alleging corruption, abuse of office and illicit enrichment.
In the December 16 petition addressed to ICPC Chairman Musa Adamu Aliyu (SAN), the Dangote Group President and CEO demanded Ahmed’s immediate arrest, investigation and prosecution. The billionaire industrialist accused the former regulatory chief of living far beyond the means of a public servant’s legitimate earnings.
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Dangote’s petition contained specific allegations that Ahmed spent more than $7 million on education expenses for his four children at schools in Switzerland, with tuition fees reportedly paid upfront for six years. The businessman argued that such extraordinary expenditure could not possibly be justified by the cumulative salary and benefits of a career civil servant.
The petition included detailed information naming the children, identifying their Swiss educational institutions and specifying the amounts paid for each student. Dangote urged the anti-corruption agency to verify what he characterized as clear evidence of corrupt enrichment through illicit means.
Beyond the education expenditure allegations, Dangote accused Ahmed of systematically abusing his regulatory position by diverting public funds for personal enrichment. The petition claimed the former NMDPRA chief transformed the regulatory authority into a vehicle for embezzlement and used his office to advance private interests at the direct expense of Nigerian citizens.
With Eyesan and Mohammed now confirmed, both executives can immediately assume their positions at the helm of the upstream and midstream/downstream petroleum regulators. Their appointments represent a fresh start for agencies that occupy central positions in managing Nigeria’s crucial oil and gas sector, which remains the backbone of Africa’s largest economy.
