₦airaland Forum

Former Edo State Governor and Senator representing Edo North, Adams Oshiomhole, revealed that he celebrated the resignation of Engr. Farouk Ahmed and Mr. Gbenga Komolafe from Nigeria’s petroleum regulatory leadership, and described their exit as necessary for Nigeria’s economic survival.

Senator representing Taraba South, David Jimkuta, aligned with Oshiomhole during the session to join him in the drinking spree while posing pointed questions to the nominees amid prevailing perceptions.

The senators spoke on Thursday during the screening of President Bola Tinubu’s nominees for Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) and the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA).

The Joint Committee on Upstream, Midstream, Downstream, and Gas conducted the legislative assignment.

President Tinubu forwarded the names of Oritsemeyiwa Amanorisewo Eyesan as CEO of the NUPRC and Engineer Saidu Aliyu Mohammed as CEO of the NMDPRA to the Senate for confirmation.

The appointments followed the resignations of Engineer Farouk Ahmed (former NMDPRA chief) and Mr. Gbenga Komolafe (former NUPRC chief), both appointed in 2021 under the Petroleum Industry Act.

The shake-up came after a public dispute between Mr. Ahmed and Dangote Group President Alhaji Aliko Dangote, who accused the NMDPRA of frustrating domestic refining through the issuance of petroleum import licences and alleged personal corruption.

During the screening, Oshiomhole criticised what he called the “shameful policy choices” of the outgoing leadership.

“I celebrated it last night,” Oshiomhole said bluntly. “It needed to be done. And I’m still going to drink tonight because of their removal.”

While acknowledging the professional qualifications of one of the nominees, Mohammed, the former labour leader, said the real issue was not competence but policy direction.

“Looking at your CV, you are qualified. But the issue for me is not qualification. It is your policy choices,” he said. “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.

He lamented 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.

The senator urged 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,” he said. “The people who work there are our brothers, our sisters, our children.”

Oshiomhole commended President Bola Ahmed Tinubu for what he described as decisive action in removing the former officials, saying the decision had renewed hope among Nigerians who depend on the sector for jobs and economic stability.

Jimkuta asked: “I want you to tell us here clearly: what are you going to tell my children? What will you do differently? What exactly is your criticism of the existing system, and how do you intend to correct the attitude and impressions Nigerians have formed?”

Islie:
https://guardian.ng/news/oshiomhole-jimkuta-celebrate-farouk-komolafes-from-nmdpra-nuprc/

Nlfpmod

Islie:
https://guardian.ng/news/oshiomhole-jimkuta-celebrate-farouk-komolafes-from-nmdpra-nuprc/

ogaontop:
Let's see the policy the new appointees will come up with,

as for Farouk and co, their sabotage is treasonable!

anonimi:
What do you think will happen to these sacred cows of Oshiomole's Assembly of Past Criminals, APC where everyone is a redeemed saint who can no longer commit sin?



https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qg_1mly5Gm8


Why do you think that Tinubu said there is no more corruption in Nigeria since 2023




https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eEsh7ErclX4

Redoil:
PRESS STATEMENT BY THE SUPREME COUNCIL FOR SHARI’AH IN NIGERIA (SCSN) ON ALLEGED DISCREPANCIES IN THE GAZETTED TAX REFORM BILLS

The Supreme Council for Shari’ah in Nigeria (SCSN) has followed with deep concern developments on the floor of the National Assembly yesterday, where Hon. Abdulsamad Dasuki, a duly elected member of the House of Representatives, raised an alarm over disturbing discrepancies between the tax reform bills passed by the National Assembly and the versions subsequently gazetted and presented to the Nigerian public.

The Council notes with utmost seriousness the allegation that additional clauses and other substantial material alterations appearing in the gazetted tax laws signed by the President were neither debated nor approved by the National Assembly. If established, this represents a grave and egregious constitutional infraction with far-reaching implications for democracy, governance, economic stability, and public trust.

Given the profound impact of tax legislation on the lives, livelihoods of ordinary citizens, businesses, and religious, social, and economic obligations of Nigerians, the Supreme Council for Shari’ah in Nigeria actively monitored and contributed immensely throughout the legislative process of considering these tax reform bills at the National Assembly. Our engagements were guided by the need to ensure fairness, equity, transparency, constitutional compliance, and protection of the public interest.

The Council is therefore shocked and deeply disturbed by allegations on the floor of the House of Representatives that what Nigerians collectively debated, scrutinised, and agreed upon through their elected representatives may have been altered at the executive level. Such action, if established ,tantamounts to tampering with the sovereign will of the Nigerian people and undermines the very foundation of constitutional governance.

Accordingly, we hereby call on all stakeholders, in particular, the leadership of the National Assembly - the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Rt. Hon. Tajuddeen Abbas, and the President of the Senate, Senator Godswill Akpabio to rise to their constitutional responsibilities by ensuring that these claims are transparently examined and appropriate actions taken before the commencement of the Tax Laws, on the 1st of January, 2026. Nigerians deserve respect, transparency, and fidelity to due process. Members of the National Assembly must be allowed, without hindrance, to conduct a critical, open, and transparent comparison between the harmonised bills passed by both chambers and the versions that were eventually gazetted, in order to establish the nature, extent, and impact of any alterations.

The consequences of such alleged infractions are grave. They include erosion of public confidence in democratic institutions, weakening of the doctrine of separation of powers, exposure of the affected laws to constitutional challenges, economic uncertainty, and loss of investor confidence. Most critically, they set a dangerous precedent where laws become negotiable instruments rather than binding outcomes of democratic deliberation.

Tax laws, by their compulsory nature, demand the highest level of constitutional integrity and procedural fidelity. Nigerians cannot be expected to comply with fiscal obligations arising from laws whose authenticity and legislative origin are in doubt. The Council therefore urges that this matter be treated with urgency, sincerity, and transparency in order to preserve constitutional order, protect institutional credibility, and reaffirm the supremacy of the Nigerian Constitution.

Nigeria’s democracy must not be undermined by executive overreach or procedural shortcuts. The will of the people, as expressed through the National Assembly, must be respected and defended.

Signed:

Nafiu Baba-Ahmad, mni
Secretary General
Supreme Council for Shari’ah in Nigeria (SCSN)
27 Jumada II 1447 AH/ 17 December 2025

https://x.com/i/status/2001907716651094024

Islie:
https://guardian.ng/news/oshiomhole-jimkuta-celebrate-farouk-komolafes-from-nmdpra-nuprc/

Exousiang01:
Chaii.
This Farouk go see something ohh.

Pootle:
oshomole is an old guard in nigeria polities but am yet to see a tangible achievement, we need to stop recycling this old politicians we need fresh ideas

NOETHNICITY:
There is no politician in the entire Igbo land past and present, that can measure up to Oshomole. None