The Senate on Friday confirmed the appointments of new chief executives for Nigeria’s key petroleum regulatory agencies, drawing commendation from the Pan Niger Delta Forum (PANDEF), which described the development as a positive step in ongoing reforms of the oil and gas sector while renewing calls for deeper Niger Delta inclusion and urgent environmental action.
Those confirmed are Mrs. Oritsemeyiwa Amanorisewo Eyesan as Commission Chief Executive of the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) and Engr. Saidu Mohammed as Authority Chief Executive of the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA), completing a leadership reset in the petroleum regulatory architecture after the exit of their predecessors.
The confirmations followed the consideration and adoption of the report of the joint Senate committees that screened the nominees. The report was presented at plenary by the committee chairman, Senator Kawu Sumaila, at a session presided over by the Deputy Senate President, Senator Jibrin Barau.
Presenting the report, Sumaila recalled that the Senate, at its sitting of December 18, 2025, received a request from President Bola Ahmed Tinubu seeking legislative confirmation of the nominees in line with the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) 2021.
The request was subsequently referred to the relevant joint committees on petroleum for screening.
He explained that Sections 4 and 29 of the PIA establish the NUPRC and NMDPRA respectively, while Sections 11(3) and 34(3) empower the President to appoint their chief executives, subject to Senate confirmation, for a renewable five-year term.
According to Sumaila, the joint committees conducted what he described as a rigorous and transparent screening exercise, during which the nominees were interrogated on their qualifications, professional experience and understanding of the mandates of their respective agencies.
“The Joint Committee, having screened the nominees and satisfied with their qualifications, expertise and responses to the various questions asked, hereby recommends that the Senate confirm the nomination of Eyesan as Commission Chief Executive of the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission and Mohammed as Authority Chief Executive of the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority,” he said.
The Deputy Senate President thereafter put the recommendations to a voice vote, which was unanimously affirmed by lawmakers, paving the way for the immediate assumption of office by the new regulators.
Barau commended the joint committees for what he described as exceptional diligence and speed, noting that the screening exercise was concluded within a remarkably short timeframe.
Sumaila said, “The confirmation and screening were referred to the committee just on Friday.
Sunday Aborisade
About the Author
