Tinubu Nominates Magnus Abe, 21 Others to Lead Nigeria’s Petroleum Regulatory Boards

President Bola Tinubu has nominated former Senator Magnus Abe as the Chairman of the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC), part of a slate of 21 nominees sent to the Senate for confirmation to the boards of the nation’s two key petroleum agencies.

In letters to the Senate on Monday, the President sought expedited approval for the board members of both the NUPRC and the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA).

Abe, a two-term former Senator for Rivers South-East, brings prior experience as a board member of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation and currently serves as Chairman of the National Agency of the Great Green Wall.

The nominations follow the recent Senate confirmation of Oritsemeyiwa Eyesan as UPRC CEO and Saidu Aliyu Mohammed as CEO of the NMDPRA. Both regulatory bodies were created by the Petroleum Industry Act (2021), which overhauled the sector’s governance.

For the NMDPRA board, Tinubu nominated lawyer Adegbite Adeniji, an energy sector advisor with over 30 years of experience, as Chairman. Other notable nominees include former Minister Kenneth Kobani.,

President Tinubu charged all nominees to uphold professional standards as regulators of the critical oil and gas sector. The Senate is expected to commence screening of the nominees in the coming weeks.