Senate has confirmed the appointment of board members of the Nigerian Upstream Regulatory Commission. The confirmation of the nominees was sequel to the consideration of a report by Senator Bassey Albert Akpan led Senate Committee on Petroleum Resources( Upstream). The nominees confirmed were Isa Ibrahim Modibbo – Chairman; Engr. Gbenga Komolafe – Chief Executive; Hassan Gambo – Executive Commissioner, Finance and Accounts; and Ms Rose Ndong – Executive Commissioner, Exploration and Acreage Management. In his presentation, Senator Akpan said that the nominees demonstrated sufficient knowledge of the workings of the petroleum industry, especially the upstream petroleum sector, as well as the economics of petroleum exploration and production.
He added that the appointments of the nominees satisfy the requirements of Sections 11 and 18 (1-5) of the Petroleum Industry Act, 2021. According to Akpan, “there are no adverse reports against the nominees as record checks and other forms of investigations by security agencies did not reveal any negative trace against them.” Akpan stated that the Committee was satisfied about the qualifications, experience, suitability, competence and integrity of the nominees to assume the position of Chairman, Chief Executive and Executive Commissioners of the Nigerian Upstream Regulatory Commission. In his remarks, the President of the Senate, Senator Ahmad Lawan, said that the establishment of the Nigerian Upstream Regulatory Commission would provide a foundation for the stabilisation of the petroleum industry in Nigeria.
Lawan said, “The Regulatory Commission has the enormous and huge responsibility of setting and establishing the Commission as provided in the Petroleum Industry Act. They have the unenviable responsibility of ensuring that they commit themselves and work hard to provide the solid and stable foundation for that matter, that they don’t waste any time because time is of essence. The Petroleum Industry will go through a reform process and the process has already started. This Commission is one of the huge arms of those reforms that will stabilise the petroleum industry in Nigeria. While the Senate confirms them, we expect nothing less than commitment and patriotism on their side. The Senate wishes them the best and a very fruitful tenure as they take their offices. We expect that the other regulatory authority for downstream and midstream will also be confirmed as soon as possible, so they also start their work immediately.”
