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Senate confirms Mohammed, Eyesan as new CEOs for NMDPRA, NUPRC

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The Senate on Friday confirmed the appointments of new chief executives for Nigeria’s key petroleum regulatory agencies, paving the way for a leadership reset in the upstream as well as the midstream and downstream segments of the oil and gas industry following the exit of their predecessors.

The confirmations came after the Senate considered and adopted the report of the joint committees that screened the nominees.

The report was presented at plenary by the Chairman of the committees, Senator Kawu Sumaila, during a session presided over by the Deputy Senate President, Senator Jibrin Barau.

Those confirmed are Oritsemeyiwa Amanorisewo Eyesan as Commission Chief Executive of the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) and Engineer Saidu Mohammed as Authority Chief Executive of the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA).

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Presenting the report, Sumaila recalled that at its sitting of December 18, 2025, the Senate received a request from President Bola Ahmed Tinubu seeking legislative confirmation of the two nominees in line with the provisions of the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA), 2021. The request was subsequently referred to the relevant joint committees on petroleum for screening.

He noted that Sections 4 and 29 of the PIA establish the NUPRC and the NMDPRA, while Sections 11(3) and 34(3) empower the President to appoint their chief executives for a renewable five-year term, subject to Senate confirmation.

According to him, the joint committees engaged the nominees in what he described as a rigorous and transparent screening exercise, during which lawmakers examined their qualifications, experience, and understanding of the statutory mandates of the two agencies.

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“The Joint Committee, having screened the nominees and being satisfied with their qualifications, expertise, and responses to questions, recommends that the Senate confirm the nomination of Oritsemeyiwa Amanorisewo Eyesan as Commission Chief Executive of the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission and Engineer Saidu Mohammed as Authority Chief Executive of the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority,” Sumaila said.

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The Deputy Senate President thereafter put the recommendations to a voice vote, which was unanimously affirmed by lawmakers.

Announcing the outcome, Barau commended the joint committees for what he described as uncommon diligence and speed, noting that the screening exercise was concluded within an unusually short period.

“The confirmation was referred to the committee just yesterday. They worked through the night and did in one day what ordinarily should take one or two weeks,” he said, describing the effort as a demonstration of commitment to the Senate and the nation.

Barau congratulated the newly confirmed chief executives and reminded them that their appointments were a call to national service, urging them to discharge their duties in the overall interest of the country.

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With the confirmation, the Senate has formally completed the process of installing new leadership in Nigeria’s petroleum regulatory architecture, a development seen as critical to sustaining reforms under the Petroleum Industry Act and strengthening stability in the oil and gas sector.

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ANGER: Three Brothers Face Murder Charge for Beating man to death for dating Their Mom

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Three brothers have appeared before the Mbabane Magistrates Court in Swaziland on a murder charge following the brutal de@th of their mother’s boyfriend.

The accused, Mlondi Mbuli, 25, Sakhelwe Mbuli, 18, and Lindani Mdziniso, 23, all from the Hholoshini area in Eswatini’s Hhohho Region, are alleged to have fatally assaulted Njabulo Ngwenya on June 28, 2026.

According to police, the brothers att@cked Ngwenya with bricks, stones, sticks, open hands, and kicks to different parts of his body. Investigators allege the assa¥lt was motivated by the brothers’ belief that Ngwenya was having a relationship with their biological mother.

Court records state that the incident was reported after Sibongile Motsa, also from Hholoshini, informed police that she discovered her son, Njabulo Ngwenya, lying deed inside her sister’s house at about 1 a.m. on June 28, 2026.

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The matter came before Principal Magistrate Sfiso Vilakati during the trio’s initial court appearance.

The three defendants have been remanded in custody until July 10, 2026, pending committal of the case to the High Court for further proceedings.

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BREAKING : Court orders final forfeiture of ₦150m kinked to Delta HoR member

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A Federal High Court sitting in Maitama, Abuja, has ordered the final forfeiture of ₦150 million linked to serving House of Representatives member, Nicholas Mutu, to the Federal Government.

The ruling was delivered by Justice J.O. Abdulmalik after the court upheld an application filed by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).

The court held that the funds should be permanently forfeited after no convincing explanation was provided to show why the money should not be seized by the government.

The forfeiture followed earlier proceedings in which the court granted an interim order against the funds.

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The court also directed that the order be published in a national newspaper to allow interested parties to challenge the application.

However, after the publication and the expiration of the required period, no sufficient cause was shown before the court to stop the permanent forfeiture.

The EFCC told the court that its investigation linked the money to alleged corrupt dealings involving Mutu during his time as chairman of the House Committee on the Niger Delta Development Commission.

According to the anti-graft agency, the lawmaker allegedly received kickbacks running into over ₦400 million from a consultant working with the NDDC.

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The commission argued that part of the funds traced during investigations included the ₦150 million now ordered forfeited.

After reviewing submissions from both parties, Justice Abdulmalik ruled in favour of the EFCC and granted the final forfeiture order.

Mutu, a long-serving federal lawmaker from Delta State, remains a serving member of the House of Representatives.

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Photos: “I Directed Wike To Build Roads Before Asking Nigerians to Move into Renewed Hope Estate, He Has Done It” – Tinubu

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President Bola Ahmed Tinubu on Friday, disclosed that he directed the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, to provide roads and other engineering infrastructure to the 3,112-unit Renewed Hope City in Karsana before residents could occupy the estate, and the minister wasted no time in carrying out the directive.

The President, represented by Senate President Godswill Akpabio, made the disclosure while commissioning the 10.5-kilometre Access Roads to the Renewed Hope Cities and Estates in Karsana West District, Abuja.

 

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He said the completion of the road network fulfilled the directive he gave during the groundbreaking of the housing project, stressing that no housing estate could function without access roads and supporting infrastructure.

“When I performed the groundbreaking for the 3,112-unit Renewed Hope City here in Karsana, I gave one clear directive: provide the roads, provide the engineering infrastructure, and unlock this district for development. Housing without access is a blueprint without a building.

“For too long, Abuja’s story was ‘awarded and abandoned contracts’. Today, we are ending that story with roads that open, not ones that stall,” he said.

Tinubu said he specifically instructed Wike to immediately open up the district because “civil servants, families and investors cannot live in houses they cannot reach.”

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“I gave that assignment to a Minister who treats deadlines as duties. I told the Honourable Minister of the FCT, Barrister Nyesom Wike, CON, that civil servants, families and investors cannot live in houses they cannot reach. ‘Open Karsana, and open it now.’ He took that brief, set the pace and delivered.

“When urgency meets quality, results follow. That is what you are standing on today.”

The President said the newly completed Arterial Roads N11, N16, N40 and Special Important Local Street 03 have linked Karsana West to the Outer Northern Expressway, making thousands of affordable housing units accessible, livable and secure.

He praised Wike for what he described as the visible transformation of the Federal Capital Territory, saying the minister had turned stalled projects into completed infrastructure.

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“You took stalled corridors and made them active corridors. You brought the same urgency to Karsana that you brought to other districts and the area councils. You measure contractors by output, not promises. Minister, you have earned my trust and you have my commendation,” Tinubu added.

He also commended Minister of State for the FCT, Mariya Mahmoud, engineers and officials of the FCT Administration for ensuring the project was completed on schedule and according to specification.

The President further praised Lubrik Construction Company for delivering the project after it was awarded the contract in February 2025, assuring contractors that his administration would continue to honour prompt payment for jobs delivered on time and to specification.

Earlier, the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Barr. Nyesom Wike recalled that Karsana was inaccessible when Tinubu performed the groundbreaking for the Renewed Hope Estate in 2024.

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“For those of us who were here that day, I was imagining how anybody would come and live in this area because there was no road,” he said.

The minister disclosed that developers had expressed fears that their investments would become worthless without access roads, but he assured them the government would intervene.

“I told them, ‘It is Renewed Hope. Go home and sleep. We must construct the road in this Karsana district.’ Today, it is a different story.”

Wike said the project became possible because the Federal Government ensured prompt payment while the contractor fulfilled its obligation by delivering within schedule.

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He also announced that the FCT Administration would next Wednesday, July 8, flag off the construction of Kaba- Kagini – Zaudna road following recent request by residents over its deplorable condition.

In her remarks, FCT Minister of State, Mariya Mahmoud, described the project as another milestone in the implementation of President Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda, saying the roads would boost economic activities, improve connectivity and expand access to affordable housing across the territory.

While celebrating the successful completion of the access roads, Mahmoud called on residents and stakeholders to take collective ownership of public infrastructure by protecting and preserving it for the benefit of present and future generations.

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