President Bola Tinubu has nominated former Rivers South-East senator Magnus Abe as chairman of the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC).

Mr Tinubu also forwarded the names of 20 other nominees to the Senate for confirmation to serve on the boards of the NUPRC and the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA).

A statement on Monday by presidential spokesman Bayo Onanuga said the president also requested that the Senate expedite the approval of the board members.

Mr Abe, a two-term lawmaker, previously served as a board member of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) and is currently the chairman of the National Agency for the Great Green Wall.

Other nominees for the NUPRC board include Paul Yaro Jezhi, a former chairman of the Trade Union Congress (TUC) in Kaduna State, and Sunday Adebayo Babalola, a former deputy director at the defunct Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR). Both are nominated as non-executive commissioners.

Mr Tinubu also nominated Muhammed Sabo Lamido, finance; Edu Inyang, exploration and acreage; Justin Ezeala, economic regulation and strategic planning; Henry Darlington Oki, development and production; Indabawa Bashari Alka, corporate services and administration; and Mahmood Tijani, health, safety, and environment.

Also nominated is Olayemi Adeboyejo as secretary and legal adviser.

While Messrs Lamido and Adeboyejo were appointed by former President Muhammadu Buhari in 2022, Mr Alka was appointed by Mr Tinubu in 2023.

Messrs Inyang, Ezeala, Tijani, Babalola, and Jezhi are fresh nominees.

In the second letter, Mr Tinubu nominated Adegbite Ebiowei Adeniji, a lawyer with over 30 years’ experience in energy and natural resources, as the chairman of the NMDPRA board.

Mr Adeniji previously served as Special Technical Adviser to the Minister of State for Petroleum and was part of the World Bank Oil and Gas Policy team that advised Nigeria on petroleum sector reforms. He is currently the managing partner at ENR Advisory.

Other nominees to the NMDPRA board include Kenneth Kobani and Asabe Ahmed as non-executive members.

Mr Kobani is a former Minister of State for Trade under President Goodluck Jonathan and previously served as secretary to the government of Rivers State.

Executive directors nominated include Abiodun Adeniji (finance), Francis Ogaree (hydrocarbon processing plants), Oluwole Adama (midstream and downstream gas infrastructure), and Mustapha Lamorde (corporate services and administration).

Others include Yahaya Nasamu Yinusa (distribution systems), Adeyemi Murtala Aminu (corporate services), Modie Ogechukwu (economic regulation and strategic planning), and Olawale Dawodu (board secretary and legal adviser).

The requests follow the recent appointment and confirmation of Oritsemeyiwa Eyesan as the chief executive officer of the NUPRC and Saidu Aliyu Mohammed as CEO of the NMDPRA.

He charged all appointees to discharge their responsibilities with professionalism in regulating Nigeria’s oil and gas sector.