Newly appointed Chief Executive of the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission, NUPRC, Oritsemeyiwa Amanorisewo Eyesan and her counterpart in the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority, NMDPRA, Saidu Aliyu Mohammed, have promised to stop revenue leakages, while restoring discipline across the value chain and unlocking Nigeria’s vast oil and gas potential under the Petroleum Industry Act, PIA if confirmed by the Senate.
They spoke on Thursday while appearing for screening before the joint Senate Committees on Petroleum Resources (Upstream, Downstream and Gas) following their appointments by President Bola Tinubu to replace pioneer Chief Executives of both agencies, Gbenga Komolafe of the NUPRC and Farouk Ahmed of the NMDPRA, who were appointed in 2021 after the PIA came into force.
Both Komolafe and Ahmed had on Wednesday resigned their appointments after meeting with the President at Aso Villa following corruption allegation against the latter by the President of Dangote Group of Companies, Alhaji Aliko Dangote.
Eyesan told the committee that collaboration, technology-driven regulation and credible data management would be central to her approach.
According to her, Nigeria is currently losing enormous value due to manual processes and poor integration of systems in an industry that is rapidly becoming digital worldwide.
“We are still largely manual, while the world is moving at jet speed. Without digitisation and real-time data, you cannot truly understand what you are regulating, and you will continue to lose money,” she said, stressing that effective oversight depends on accurate numbers, asset integrity monitoring and transparent systems.
She explained that her years in the industry had shown that progress was fastest when regulators, operators and policymakers worked together to identify bottlenecks and jointly resolve them.
“We must collaborate with stakeholders, identify our pain points and address them collectively. That is how we move the needle forward,” she added.
Eyesan assured the lawmakers that she would fully deploy the PIA as a regulatory tool to reposition the upstream sector, attract fresh investments and ensure Nigeria does not fall behind in the global energy transition.
She described the law as a “valuable document” that provides the framework needed to unlock opportunities in oil and gas, if properly implemented.
On his part, Mohammed placed emphasis on restoring discipline to Nigeria’s gas and petroleum supply systems, particularly through strict enforcement of contracts and quality standards.
“Gas is not a favour; it is a commodity. It must be sold on the basis of enforceable contracts from the producer to the transporter and the end-user,” he said, arguing that weak contractual frameworks had contributed to persistent gas shortages, especially in the power sector.
He noted that uninterrupted gas supply to some power plants was only possible where contracts existed and obligations were clearly defined.
According to him, enforcing the Gas Network Code and strengthening regulatory oversight would help eliminate chaos in the system and encourage investors to return to the sector.
Mohammed also warned that Nigeria must protect its local refining and processing capacity, cautioning that failure to do so could see the sector suffer the same fate as the collapsed textile industry. While supporting exports, he stressed that domestic needs must be met first to ensure energy security.
The NMDPRA nominee pledged to revive pipeline transportation of petroleum products, attract billions of dollars in investments for gas processing infrastructure and strengthen quality assurance through in-house laboratory facilities.
“You cannot enforce quality if you do not have the capacity to test and certify products yourself,” he said.
Chairman of the Senate Committee on Petroleum Resources (Downstream), Senator Sumaila Kawu, said the screening was taking place at a critical moment for Nigeria, noting that boosting energy production and efficiency was central to national economic recovery.
He disclosed that further engagements with the nominees would continue into January to deepen legislative–regulatory collaboration.
