- Slams ‘shameful policy choices’
- Tasks new CEOs on job credtion
BY VICTOR BUORO – Former Governor of Edo State, and Senator representing Edo North in the National Assembly, Comrade Adams Oshiomhole says the recent leadership changes in the petroleum sector is for the overall good of Nigerians and the country going forward.
Senator Oshiomhole praised President Bola Ahmed Tinubu for the swift move in preventing a leadership vacuum following the resignation of Engineer Farouk Ahmed and Mr. Gbenga Komolafe from Nigeria’s petroleum regulatory leadership.
Ahmed and Komolafe recently resigned as Chief Executive Officers of the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA) and Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC).
Expressing support for the latest development during a legislative session on Thursday, December 18, 2025, Senator Oshiomhole pointedly said the former regulators’ removal after a high-stake meeting with the President was a cause for personal celebration and relief, describing their exit as necessary for Nigeria’s economic survival.
The former Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) President argued that Ahmed’s tenure had become increasingly untenable due to an escalating public dispute with billionaire industrialist Aliko Dangote, saying the President acted promptly in the overall interest of the nation.
Oshiomhole, who criticised what he called the “shameful policy choices” of the outgoing leadership, said: “I celebrated it last night. It needed to be done. And I’m still going to drink tonight because of their removal.”
He spoke at the Joint Committee on Upstream, Midstream, Downstream, and Gas legislative screening of President Tinubu’s nominees, Oritsemeyiwa Amanorisewo Eyesan as NUPRC’s Chief Executive Officer and Engineer Saidu Aliyu Mohammed as NMDPRA’s Chief Executive Officer to the Senate for confirmation
Acknowledging the professional qualifications of one of the nominees, Mohammed, the former labour leader, said the real issue was not competence but policy direction, adding: “Looking at your CV, you are qualified. But the issue for me is not qualification. It is your policy choices.
“Everywhere in the world, nation-states deliberately protect local industries, not because they like the owners, but because they want to create jobs.”
Oshiomhole warned that job creation would not come from sympathy for the unemployed but from deliberate support for labour-intensive industries such as refineries.
“Jobs will not be achieved by weeping for the jobless. It is by supporting businesses, particularly manufacturers like refineries,” he said, lamenting that despite the issuance of multiple refinery licences over the years, including large, mid-sized, and modular refineries, policies under the previous leadership had undermined local refining and encouraged importation.
According to him, assets were “deliberately stifled” under the watch of the former regulators, a development he said ran contrary to Nigeria’s national interest.
“Anyone who is opposed to jobs being created in Nigeria, who prefers importation, importing products here and exporting our wealth abroad, has no business managing this sector,” Oshiomhole said.
He tasked the new nominees to be guided by national interest rather than commercial convenience, stressing that the petroleum sector must work for Nigerian workers, engineers, and families whose livelihoods depend on local refining.
“Be guided by what is good for Nigeria, not by the interests of refinery owners alone. The people who work there are our brothers, our sisters, our children”, Oshiomhole said
While commending the President for what he described as decisive action in removing the former officials, the former Edo Governor said the decision had renewed hope among Nigerians who depend on the sector for jobs and economic stability.
“I want to more importantly thank the President for acting promptly and not allowing for a vacuum. I am still going to drink tonight because of the removal of Farouk and Gbenga”, he said.
Similarly, the Senator representing Taraba South, David Jimkuta, while aligning with Oshiomhole during the session, had jokingly promised to join him in the drinking spree even as he directed pointed questions at the nominees amid prevailing perceptions.
Following allegations that the regulator was sabotaging domestic refining by issuing excessive import licenses and making disparaging remarks about the quality of locally produced fuel, the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) is set to act on a formal petition received on December 16, 2025 from Alhaji Dangote accusing Ahmed of economic sabotage and financial impropriety.
The petition specifically alleged that the regulator spent over $7 million on the foreign education of his children without a justifiable source of income
Farouk Ahmed and Gbenga Komolafe were both appointed in 2021 under the Petroleum Industry Act.
