NMDPRA chief resigns after Dangote corruption claim

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The Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA), Engineer Farouk Ahmed, has resigned from office amid a corruption allegation recently levelled against him by the Chairman of Dangote Group, Aliko Dangote...

President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has formally notified the Senate of Ahmed’s resignation while forwarding a request for the confirmation of a replacement to lead the regulatory agency.

The development was disclosed in a statement issued on Tuesday by the Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga.

According to the statement, the President has nominated Engineer Saidu Aliyu Mohammed as the new CEO of the NMDPRA and has asked the Senate to consider and approve the appointment.

Ahmed’s resignation comes after Dangote petitioned the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC), alleging that the former NMDPRA chief lived beyond his legitimate means as a public officer.

He was appointed in 2021 by former President Muhammadu Buhari to head the NMDPRA, one of the two regulatory bodies established under the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA).

In the same correspondence to the Senate, President Tinubu also requested the confirmation of Oritsemeyiwa Amanorisewo Eyesan as CEO of the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC), following the resignation of its former boss, Gbenga Komolafe.

The Presidency described the nominees as experienced professionals in the oil and gas sector.

Mohammed, a Chemical Engineering graduate of Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, has previously served as Managing Director of the Kaduna Refining and Petrochemical Company and the Nigerian Gas Company.

He also held board chairmanship positions in several energy-related institutions and recently emerged as an independent non-executive director at Seplat Energy.

Eyesan, an Economics graduate of the University of Benin, spent nearly 33 years with the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) and its subsidiaries, retiring as Executive Vice President, Upstream, after serving in several strategic management roles.