President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has submitted a list of 21 nominees to the Senate for confirmation to the boards of Nigeria’s two primary petroleum regulatory agencies. In a letter read on Monday, January 5, 2026, the President nominated Senator Magnus Abe to serve as the Chairman of the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC). Abe, a former senator for Rivers South-East and an ex-NNPC board member, is expected to bring his extensive political and industry experience to the upstream sector. The nominations also include non-executive commissioners Paul Yaro Jezhi and Sunday Adebayo Babalola, as well as several executive commissioners tasked with finance, exploration, and health and safety.
For the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA), the President nominated Adegbite Ebiowei Adeniji, a legal expert with over 30 years in energy law, as the board chairman. Adeniji previously served as a technical adviser to the Minister of State for Petroleum and has advised the World Bank on Nigeria’s gas sector reforms. Other notable nominees for the NMDPRA board include Chief Kenneth Kobani, a former minister under the Jonathan administration, and Mrs. Asabe Ahmed. The President urged the Senate to provide “expeditious approval” to ensure the agencies can operate at full capacity as regulators of the oil and gas sectors.
The board appointments follow the recent confirmation of Oritsemeyiwa Eyesan as the CEO of NUPRC and Engineer Saidu Aliyu Mohammed as the CEO of NMDPRA. President Tinubu has charged the new nominees to discharge their duties professionally and with a focus on transparency, aligning with the objectives of the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA).Many of the executive commissioners, such as Muhammed Sabo Lamido and Ms. Olayemi Adeboyejo, are returning members initially appointed under the Buhari administration, ensuring a degree of continuity within the regulatory framework. The inclusion of figures like Magnus Abe and Kenneth Kobani also suggests a balancing of political interests, particularly from the South-South region.
