By George Mgbeleke <\/p>\n
Senate Committee on Petroleum Resources (Upstream, Downstream and Gas) commenced the screening of President Bola Tinubu’s nominees for the leadership of the country\u2019s key petroleum regulatory agencies, on Thursday with the candidates pledging far-reaching reforms anchored on digitisation, strict contract enforcement, investor confidence and accelerated gas development.<\/p>\n
The nominees, Oritsemeyiwa Amanorisewo Eyesan for the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) and Engineer Saidu Mohammed for the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA), appeared before senators at the National Assembly, where they outlined policy directions aimed at stopping revenue leakages, restoring discipline across the value chain and unlocking Nigeria\u2019s vast oil and gas potential under the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA).<\/p>\n
Their nominations followed the resignation of the pioneer chief executives of both agencies, Gbenga Komolafe of the NUPRC and Farouk Ahmed of the NMDPRA, who were appointed in 2021 after the PIA came into force.<\/p>\n
Eyesan, who is set to lead the upstream regulator, told the committee that collaboration, technology-driven regulation and credible data management would be central to her approach. According to her, Nigeria is currently losing enormous value due to manual processes and poor integration of systems in an industry that is rapidly becoming digital worldwide.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe are still largely manual, while the world is moving at jet speed. Without digitisation and real-time data, you cannot truly understand what you are regulating, and you will continue to lose money,\u201d she said, stressing that effective oversight depends on accurate numbers, asset integrity monitoring and transparent systems.<\/p>\n
She explained that her years in the industry had shown that progress was fastest when regulators, operators and policymakers worked together to identify bottlenecks and jointly resolve them. \u201cWe must collaborate with stakeholders, identify our pain points and address them collectively. That is how we move the needle forward,\u201d she added.<\/p>\n
Eyesan assured lawmakers that she would fully deploy the PIA as a regulatory tool to reposition the upstream sector, attract fresh investments and ensure Nigeria does not fall behind in the global energy transition. She described the law as a \u201cvaluable document\u201d that provides the framework needed to unlock opportunities in oil and gas, if properly implemented.<\/p>\n
A graduate of Economics from the University of Benin, Eyesan spent nearly 33 years at the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC) and its subsidiaries, retiring as Executive Vice President, Upstream. During her presentation, she highlighted her role in resolving long-standing disputes with international partners, restoring confidence during periods of divestment threats and facilitating multi-billion-dollar investments in deep offshore projects.<\/p>\n
She also recalled signing Nigeria\u2019s first non-associated gas development contract and contributing to an increase in crude oil production from about 1.3 million barrels per day to 1.8 million barrels per day during her tenure. \u201cHaving worked as an operator and participated in resource development, I believe I have the competence to regulate the industry and ensure we maximise the enormous opportunities before us,\u201d she told the committee.<\/p>\n
On his part, Mohammed, the nominee for the midstream and downstream regulator, placed emphasis on restoring discipline to Nigeria\u2019s gas and petroleum supply systems, particularly through strict enforcement of contracts and quality standards.<\/p>\n
\u201cGas is not a favour; it is a commodity. It must be sold on the basis of enforceable contracts from the producer to the transporter and the end-user,\u201d he said, arguing that weak contractual frameworks had contributed to persistent gas shortages, especially in the power sector.<\/p>\n
He noted that uninterrupted gas supply to some power plants was only possible where contracts existed and obligations were clearly defined. According to him, enforcing the Gas Network Code and strengthening regulatory oversight would help eliminate chaos in the system and encourage investors to return to the sector.<\/p>\n
Mohammed also warned that Nigeria must protect its local refining and processing capacity, cautioning that failure to do so could see the sector suffer the same fate as the collapsed textile industry. While supporting exports, he stressed that domestic needs must be met first to ensure energy security.<\/p>\n
The NMDPRA nominee pledged to revive pipeline transportation of petroleum products, attract billions of dollars in investments for gas processing infrastructure and strengthen quality assurance through in-house laboratory facilities. \u201cYou cannot enforce quality if you do not have the capacity to test and certify products yourself,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Born in Gombe in 1957, Mohammed is a chemical engineering graduate of Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, with decades of experience across the oil and gas value chain. He has served as Managing Director of the Nigerian Gas Company and Kaduna Refining and Petrochemical Company, as well as Group Executive Director\/Chief Operating Officer, Gas and Power at NNPC. He also played key roles in major projects such as the Escravos\u2013Lagos Pipeline Expansion and the Ajaokuta\u2013Kaduna\u2013Kano Gas Pipeline.<\/p>\n
Chairman of the Senate Committee on Petroleum Resources (Downstream), Senator Sumaila Kawu, said the screening was taking place at a critical moment for Nigeria, noting that boosting energy production and efficiency was central to national economic recovery. He disclosed that further engagements with the nominees would continue into January to deepen legislative\u2013regulatory collaboration.<\/p>\n
Following the screening, the Senate is expected to consider the committee\u2019s report and move towards confirming the nominees, marking a new phase in the regulation of Nigeria\u2019s oil and gas industry under the Tinubu administration.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
By George Mgbeleke Senate Committee on Petroleum Resources (Upstream, Downstream and Gas) commenced the screening of President Bola Tinubu’s nominees for the leadership of the country\u2019s key petroleum regulatory agencies, on Thursday with the candidates pledging far-reaching reforms anchored on digitisation, strict contract enforcement, investor confidence and accelerated gas development. The nominees, Oritsemeyiwa Amanorisewo Eyesan […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":9577,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[2047,4675,2905,259,5693],"class_list":["post-9576","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-discipline","tag-leakages","tag-restoring","tag-revenue","tag-stopping"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyechoes.ng\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9576","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyechoes.ng\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyechoes.ng\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyechoes.ng\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyechoes.ng\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=9576"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/dailyechoes.ng\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9576\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":9578,"href":"https:\/\/dailyechoes.ng\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9576\/revisions\/9578"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyechoes.ng\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/9577"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyechoes.ng\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=9576"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyechoes.ng\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=9576"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyechoes.ng\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=9576"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}