Nigeria's oil sector reeled from seismic shifts on December 17, 2025, as NMDPRA CEO Farouk Ahmed resigned hours after a tense Villa showdown with President Bola Tinubu, triggered by Aliko Dangote's blistering corruption charges that also felled NUPRC's Gbenga Komolafe in a dual executive purge. Bayo Onanuga, Tinubu's media aide, confirmed the exits of the 2021 Buhari appointees, spotlighting Dangote's advert exposé of Ahmed's alleged $5 million taxpayer-funded Swiss schooling for his kids, escalating to an ICPC petition demanding arrest for lavish living beyond official means.
Tinubu swiftly nominated replacements Oritsemeyiwa Amanorisewo Eyesan for NUPRC, a 33-year NNPC veteran and ex-Upstream EVP with economics chops from UNIBEN, and Engineer Saidu Aliyu Mohammed for NMDPRA, a 1957-born chemical engineering alum of Ahmadu Bello University boasting stints as Kaduna Refinery MD, Nigerian Gas Company head, and architect of gas masterplans, AKK pipeline, and PIA frameworks. These seasoned picks signal urgent stabilization amid Dangote Refinery's clashes with regulators over import quotas and fuel quality sabotage claims that rocked markets.
The resignations cap a saga of economic warfare allegations, vindicating Dangote's pushback against perceived sabotage while thrusting fresh leadership into PIA-born agencies critical for midstream/downstream reforms. Senate expedited screening looms as stakeholders eye impacts on refinery output, gas expansion, and investor trust in Tinubu's anti-graft drive.