Farouk Ahmed has resigned as the Managing Director of the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA) amid corruption allegations levelled against him by the Chairman of the Dangote Group, Aliko Dangote.
Presidential spokesman, Bayo Onanuga, disclosed this in a statement on Wednesday
President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has forwarded to the Senate the names of two nominees for confirmation as chief executives of Nigeria’s petroleum regulatory agencies, following the resignation of their incumbent heads.
The President’s request comes after the resignation of Ahmed, Chief Executive of the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA), and Mr. Gbenga Komolafe, Chief Executive of the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC). Both officials were appointed in 2021 by former President Muhammadu Buhari under the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA).
To fill the vacant positions, President Tinubu has nominated Mrs. Oritsemeyiwa Amanorisewo Eyesan as Chief Executive Officer of the NUPRC and Engineer Saidu Aliyu Mohammed as Chief Executive Officer of the NMDPRA, and has requested the Senate’s expedited consideration and confirmation.
Mrs. Eyesan is a seasoned oil and gas professional with nearly 33 years of experience at the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC) and its subsidiaries. A graduate of Economics from the University of Benin, she retired as Executive Vice President, Upstream (2023–2024), having earlier served as Group General Manager, Corporate Planning and Strategy, from 2019 to 2023.
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Engineer Saidu Aliyu Mohammed, born in 1957 in Gombe State, earned a Bachelor’s degree in Chemical Engineering from Ahmadu Bello University in 1981. He was recently announced as an independent non-executive director at Seplat Energy.
His career spans several leadership roles, including Managing Director of the Kaduna Refining and Petrochemical Company and the Nigerian Gas Company. He has also chaired the boards of the West African Gas Pipeline Company, Nigeria LNG subsidiaries, and NNPC Retail.
Engineer Mohammed previously served as Group Executive Director and Chief Operating Officer, Gas and Power Directorate, where he provided strategic leadership for major gas initiatives and policy frameworks, including the Gas Masterplan, the Gas Network Code, and contributions to the Petroleum Industry Act. He played key roles in landmark projects such as the Escravos–Lagos Pipeline Expansion, the Ajaokuta–Kaduna–Kano (AKK) Gas Pipeline, and Nigeria LNG Train developments.
