Sumner Sambo, Director of News, Arise News, has noted that some individuals in the Tinubu administration have had their eyes on juicy positions such as the Managing Director of the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority, NMDPRA, and Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission, NUPRC.
He noted that apart from the issues of alleged corruption raised by the President of Dangote Refinery, Alhaji Aliko Dangote, people from the Tinubu administration have been eyeing these positions, and they kept putting pressure on people heading the agencies.
This followed the resignation of Engineer Farouk Ahmed, as the CEO of NMDPRA, and Gbenga Komolafe, from his position as CEO of NUPRC.
Both officials were appointed in 2021 by former President Muhammadu Buhari to head the regulatory bodies established under the Petroleum Industry Act, PIA.
He said, “Well, I wouldn’t say why the President included all of this or why the resignation actually happened the way it’s being put this way, but I think, anyone who understands how the petroleum and gas industry works in Nigeria would know that once a new government comes into place, there are always those who come with the new government that would be eyeing such positions.
“Apart from the issues that we have on ground right now, you know that people with the Bola Tinubu administration have always had eyes on those agencies.
“And so that’s why you saw that they kept giving them some sort of templates to work on, you know, what to deliver. And if they are unable to deliver that, you get into this kind of situation that happened.
“So there had always been that pressure on Gbenga Komolafe. But the thing is that he delivered. He did very, very well, just today, earlier today, he also received an award, and all of that.
“And then you will see that, apart from that, he had also brought in place some metering measures, because Nigeria does not really know how much oil we produce. The metering system is actually porous. So he had got this private company to come in and ensure that the metering system was upgraded.
“And he was already making a success of it. But of course, if you’re a chief executive of this kind of organization, you always have to be on your toes.
“So let’s get it very clear. These people were not sacked. We are told that they resigned, and that’s where the politics lie. Yes, are they resigning? For example, Farouk Ahmed, they say resigned because of the allegations against him.
“Even if he does resign, what happens to him based on the allegations by Aliko Dangote? And then, of course, the anti graft agencies are saying that they will take a look into it.
“So would they just let him go for free, or was he asked to resign? He could have also been asked to resign, and Gbenga Komolafe just fell victim of the issue.”
President Bola Tinubu on Wednesday transmitted a letter to the Senate seeking the confirmation of Oritsemeyiwa Amanorisewo Eyesan as Chief Executive Officer of NUPRC and Engineer Saidu Aliyu Mohammed as Chief Executive Officer of NMDPRA.
