ABUJA, Nigeria (FN) — President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has accepted the resignations of the chief executives of Nigeria’s two key petroleum regulatory agencies, a move industry observers say effectively ends the high-profile dispute between billionaire industrialist Aliko Dangote and the former downstream regulator, Engineer Farouk Ahmed.
In a letter sent to the Senate on Tuesday, Tinubu requested confirmation of new nominees to lead the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA) and the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) following the exit of their chief executives, Farouk Ahmed and Gbenga Komolafe.
Farouk Ahmed’s resignation from the NMDPRA comes months after a bitter public disagreement with Dangote over regulatory actions affecting the $20 billion Dangote Refinery, including fuel import licensing, pricing issues and refinery certification. The dispute had drawn intense scrutiny and was widely viewed as a test of regulatory independence under the Petroleum Industry Act.
While the presidency did not directly reference the controversy, industry sources said Ahmed’s departure is being interpreted as a major win for Dangote, whose refinery is central to Tinubu’s strategy to end Nigeria’s reliance on imported fuel.
“The exit of Farouk Ahmed removes the biggest regulatory obstacle Dangote faced,” said one senior energy sector official, who spoke on condition of anonymity. “In practical terms, Dangote has prevailed.”
Both Ahmed and Komolafe were appointed in 2021 by former President Muhammadu Buhari to head the two regulators created under the Petroleum Industry Act.
To replace them, Tinubu nominated Oritsemeyiwa Amanorisewo Eyesan as chief executive of the NUPRC and Engineer Saidu Aliyu Mohammed as chief executive of the NMDPRA, asking the Senate to expedite their confirmation.
Eyesan is a veteran of the oil industry with nearly 33 years at the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Ltd. She retired in 2024 as executive vice president for upstream operations and previously served as group general manager for corporate planning and strategy.
Mohammed, a chemical engineer and former managing director of both the Kaduna Refining and Petrochemical Company and the Nigerian Gas Company, has also served as group executive director and chief operating officer for gas and power at NNPC. He currently sits on the board of Seplat Energy as an independent non-executive director.
He played key roles in major gas infrastructure projects, including the Escravos–Lagos Pipeline Expansion and the Ajaokuta–Kaduna–Kano gas pipeline, and contributed to the development of the Petroleum Industry Act.
Dangote had repeatedly accused the NMDPRA under Ahmed of undermining local refining by continuing fuel imports and imposing what he described as inconsistent regulatory requirements. Ahmed, in turn, defended the regulator’s actions as lawful and necessary.
With Ahmed’s exit and new leadership set to take over the downstream regulator, analysts say the federal government appears to be aligning more closely with Dangote’s vision of domestic refining dominance.
The Senate is expected to begin screening the nominees in the coming days.
