Three Years In office: Tinubu’s Strides In The Petroleum Midstream & Downstream Sector

BY AMB. GOODLUCK BRAIDE 

 

 

 

In 2021, Nigeria’s ailing petroleum industry witnessed a significant overhaul with the enactment of the long-anticipated Petroleum Industry Act (PIA). This all-important piece of legislation had become imperative to modernise sector governance, attract foreign investments, and address long-standing grievances in Nigeria’s oil belt. A restructured petroleum industry came with the establishment of better governed and profit-driven institutions, one of which is the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (MNDPRA).

 

The establishment of the NMDPRA saw the dissolution of three legacy agencies, namely the now defunct Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR), Petroleum Products Pricing Regulatory Agency (PPPRA), and the Petroleum Equalisation Fund Management Board (PEFMB). In effect, it has taken over the statutory responsibilities of the unbundled agencies, empowered by law to discharge functions that remain critical to the survival of the Nigerian economy.
Operations of the NMDPRA are vital to Nigeria’s economic survival which is largely dependent on the petroleum industry. It is statutorily saddled with the responsibility to directly control supply chains, ensuring energy security and supply stability. The NMDPRA is also legally mandated to oversee market-based pricing reforms and ensure healthy competition among industry operators. This is with a view to attracting commercial investments, whilst protecting consumers from hyper-inflationary energy costs and ensuring that there is quality assurance in petroleum production.

Additionally, the NMDPRA is tasked with the responsibility of accelerating domestic gas penetration – including CNG and LPG – thereby driving the government’s push for lowered energy costs and increased local manufacturing. This follows Nigeria’s official declaration of the period from 2021 to 2030 as its gas decade to leverage her abundant gas reserves to drive industrialisation, promote energy transition, and grow the economy.

 

The declaration of Nigeria’s gas decade is not without basis. With the largest proven natural gas reserves in Africa, the country is recognised as a major global gas zone. In 2025, Nigeria’s daily gas output reached approximately 7.5 trillion cubic feet. By April 2026, the NNPC Limited reported an improved gas production performance, with output rising to 7,730 standard cubic feet per day. It is heart-warming to note that the report projects a further increase to 12,000 standard cubic feet per day by 2030.

 

To this end, the Tinubu administration has made some commendable progress with a remarkable implementation of laudable policies. In line with its “Renewed Hope Agenda”, the government of President Tinubu has bolstered investor confidence with targeted fiscal incentives, including tax credits and exemptions, to reposition the country as the preferred destination in the global energy market. It has also vigorously embarked on midstream gas financing and pipeline delivery.

 

 

Under the Midstream and Downstream Gas Infrastructure Fund ( MDGIF), the Tinubu administration has mobilised over N287 billion to build critical infrastructure projects across the gas value chain. Its intervention has witnessed a rapid expansion of CNG infrastructure with the commissioning of four mega projects in Lagos, Owerri, and Abuja.

 

A flagship infrastructure designed to move incremental gas to the domestic market is the 614 km Ajaokuta-Kaduna-Kano gas pipeline which has exceeded 90% completion, overcoming long-standing technical and structural delays under the Tinubu administration. By December 2025, the NNPC Limited had successfully completed welding the entire 614 km mainline. This crucial gas infrastructure, when completed by the second half of 2026, is expected to transport up to 2.2 billion cubic feet of gas from the country’s southern oilfields to its northern industrial hubs.

 

The reinvigorated push for gas expansion in Nigeria is borne out of necessity. It is part of efforts to increase domestic gas utilisation and accelerate the country’s transition from fossils to cleaner energy sources of production in the hydrocarbon industry. It is also in response to the high costs of transportation attendant on a presidential directive on fuel subsidy removal that came into force on May 29, 2023. So far, the Federal Government has made provisions for 100,000 free conversion kits to enable commercial vehicles, mass transit buses, and tricycles to switch their means of fuel from premium motor spirit to gas for the ease of high costs of commuting.

That the NMDPRA plays a significant role in Nigeria’s economic survival cannot be over-emphasised. It is responsible for securing supply chains of petroleum products, ensuring price stability, and enforcing quality control in the sector. This is, no doubt, a daunting task that requires focused leadership to achieve.

 

In April 2026, President Tinubu removed Saidu Mohammed as Chief Executive of NMDPRA, replacing him with Rabiu Abdullahi Umar to drive his vision for the growth of the petroleum midstream and downstream sector. In the meantime, Francis Alabo Ogaree, the most senior official in the system, has been directed to temporarily oversee its affairs.

 

Ogaree is a 1980 graduate of the University of Lagos who has professionally strut his stuff in the public and private sectors over the years. He has held strategic leadership positions in the NNPC, Brass LNG project, and other projects. In February 2022, the man who now fills the leadership vacuum in the NMDPRA was first appointed Executive Director in charge of hydrocarbon processing plants, installation and transport infrastructure at the inception of the Authority. He is also credited with championing the pioneering efforts of running the economic model and the drafting of Nigeria’s first Production Sharing Contract (PSC) Agreement in 1993.

Since his appointment as Executive Director, Ogaree has deployed decades of experience in the NNPC and private oil companies in managing the affairs of his Directorate. A notable policy introduced under his direct supervision is the Lubricant Market Standardisation policy which has drastically reduced the influx of substandard, low-quality lubricants into Nigeria. The Gas Network Volume Reconciliation Policy is also the brainchild of Ogaree’s Directorate that has helped the NMDPRA track and audit the volume of gas transported across supply chains with more precision. It is also instructive to note that institutional policy reforms introduced under his watch have spearheaded structural collaborations between the NMDPRA and the Ministry of Petroleum Resources to align with regulatory procedures and drive ease of doing business in the petroleum midstream and downstream sector.

 

The presidency had hinted that the appointment of Rabiu Umar as the substantive Chief Executive of the NMDPRA is to drive its “Renewed Hope Agenda” in the petroleum industry. Presidency sources describe Mr. Umar as “a seasoned executive with over 25 years of experience across the energy, manufacturing, and infrastructure sectors”. He is billed to preside over the Authority’s affairs with a proven track record in strategic leadership, operational transformation, and large project delivery.

 

Mr. Umar is a graduate of Accounting from Bayero University and an alumnus of Harvard Business School. It goes without saying that he is equipped with a world-class technical foundation for a Chief Executive. With his educational background, he has been groomed to masterfully navigate financial strategy, capital allocation, and corporate governance. But perhaps his greatest asset lies with his vast hands-on industry experience that comes with practical operational and deep domain expertise in the petroleum industry which he is expected to apply to take the NMDPRA to the next level.

The petroleum industry, particularly its Midstream and Downstream sector, has witnessed a significant turn-around under the Tinubu administration. Ending the fuel subsidy policy has removed severe market distortions and freed up trillions of naira through full deregulation of the downstream sector.
The Tinubu administration will be remembered for facilitating local refining, thereby ending a historical cycle of complete reliance on imported refined products. The supply of crude oil to local refiners, including Dangote and four other smaller players namely, Aradel, Watersmith, Duport, and OPAC, drastically reduces foreign exchange transaction risks, and lowers operational costs for local refiners. Ultimately, it signals a major boost for energy sufficiency in the country..

 

However, this is not to suggest that there is no room for improved service delivery by the NMDPRA. For instance, simplifying the process of issuing its operational licences has been a major concern for investors. Under the leadership of Mr. Umar, there is a need to significantly reduce, or completely eliminate if possible, bureaucratic bottlenecks to deepen the Authority’s operational efficiency.

 

Going forward, it has become imperative to shift focus from export-dominated markets to an expanded domestic gas utilisation, particularly for CNG and LPG. This would require creating more awareness on the MDGIF to enable prospective investors take advantage of the existing incentives for local investments in the midstream and downstream sector. Furthermore, the NMDPRA has to consider and address factors preventing investors that have been issued licences to fully liberalise the refining space, encourage healthy competition, improve quality assurance, and crash prices of petroleum products.

 

As it supervises the most comprehensive reforms in the petroleum industry, the Tinubu administration has the obligation to protect consumers from exploitation by promoting market competition in the midstream and downstream sector. This entails enforcing anti-monopoly regulations in the deregulated retail market to prevent price-fixing and collusion, ensuring that deregulated energy costs remain fair and affordable to Nigerians.

By and large, the petroleum industry, particularly its midstream and downstream sector, has fared well under President Tinubu. The onus is on the NMDPRA to stay focused on Mr. President’s vision for the petroleum industry.