A number of petroleum industry experts have faulted the appointment of Aminu Said Ahmed of the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA) into the newly reconstituted Board of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) Ltd.
They sounded the alarm over what they describe as a significant breach of the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) 2021.
In a formal statement issued over the weekend and signed by Mr. Abolade Adewale, the group expressed their objection to the irregular appointment of Mr. Aminu Said Ahmed, a Senior Manager at NMDPRA, as the representative of the Ministry of Petroleum Resources (MPR) on the Board.
According to the statement, this appointment flagrantly violates Section 59(2)(d) of the PIA 2021, which unequivocally stipulates that the Ministry’s representative on the NNPC Ltd Board must be “a representative of the Ministry of Petroleum Resources (MPR), not below the rank of a Director”. Mr. Ahmed, a Grade Level 14 officer from the NMDPRA, a separate and independent regulatory agency, say the experts, neither meets this statutory requirement nor qualifies as a staff of the Ministry of Petroleum Resources.
The group further stated that this appointment sets a dangerous precedent and represents a deliberate attempt to sideline the Ministry’s institutional authority, the statement reads, advocating for the Ministry of Petroleum Resources not be reduced to a passive observer in an industry it is statutorily mandated to oversee.
The experts emphasized that the Ministry of Finance (FMF) is represented on the Board by its Permanent Secretary, in strict adherence to the Act.
To ensure institutional parity and compliance, they urged His Excellency, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, GCFR, to reverse the appointment and instead approve a representative from the MPR who meets the statutory threshold, preferably the Ministry’s Permanent Secretary.
They further criticized a recurring pattern of assigning officials outside the Ministry to represent Nigeria at global petroleum bodies such as the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC). Citing Section 3(1)(d) of the PIA, which mandates the Ministry to lead international petroleum engagements, they described such practices as fueled by nepotism and disregard for institutional memory, posing serious reputational and governance risks.
“We therefore respectfully submit that all nominations to international engagements on Petroleum-related matters should kindly be made strictly among serving officials of the MPR through formal appointment by the Minister, as permitted under the law,” added Adewale.
The group concluded by calling on President Tinubu to reaffirm Nigeria’s commitment to legal and institutional governance in the oil and gas sector by taking swift corrective action. They expressed confidence in the President’s leadership and commitment to due process, urging him to protect the integrity of the Petroleum Industry Act and preserve the credibility of the NNPC Ltd Board.
