President Bola Tinubu has formally notified the Senate of Ahmed’s resignation as Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority, NMDPRA, while requesting confirmation of a replacement to lead the agency.
The move comes days after Dangote accused the regulator’s former boss of living far beyond his legitimate means as a public official.
In a statement issued by presidential spokesperson Bayo Onanuga, Tinubu nominated Saidu Aliyu Mohammed, a veteran oil and gas executive, as the new head of the NMDPRA and urged lawmakers to approve the appointment.
The allegation
Ahmed’s departure follows a petition filed by Dangote to Nigeria’s Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission, ICPC.
The billionaire industrialist, whose $20 billion Lekki refinery is expected to reshape Africa’s fuel market, also accused the former regulator of economic sabotage, claiming his actions favoured fuel importers at the expense of domestic refining. Ahmed has not publicly responded to the allegations.
Beyond the NMDPRA, the shake-up extends to Nigeria’s upstream petroleum regulator.
Tinubu sanctions replacement
Both Ahmed and Komolafe were appointed in 2021 by former President Muhammadu Buhari to oversee agencies created under the landmark Petroleum Industry Act, legislation designed to modernise Nigeria’s oil and gas governance and attract investment.
The Presidency described the new nominees as seasoned professionals capable of restoring confidence in the sector.
Mohammed, a chemical engineering graduate of Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, previously served as Managing Director of the Kaduna Refining and Petrochemical Company and the Nigerian Gas Company.
He has also chaired the boards of several energy institutions and was recently named an independent non-executive director at Seplat Energy, one of Nigeria’s largest listed oil producers.
Eyesan, an economics graduate of the University of Benin, spent nearly 33 years at the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation and its subsidiaries.
She retired as Executive Vice President, Upstream, after holding senior roles in corporate planning, strategy, and asset management.
The resignations and swift nominations highlight Tinubu’s early efforts to assert control over a sector that accounts for the bulk of Nigeria’s foreign exchange earnings.
For global investors and African energy watchers alike, the episode underscores both the scale of Nigeria’s reform ambitions and the persistent challenges of transparency and accountability in its oil industry.
As the Senate considers the confirmations, attention will remain firmly on how the government handles the allegations raised by Dangote, whose refinery project is central to Nigeria’s hopes of ending decades of fuel import dependence.
