…. most senior official at NMDPRA to act as ACE pending Senate confirmation
Oredola Adeola
Bola Ahmed Tinubu has approved the removal of Saidu Mohammed as Chief Executive of the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA) and nominated Rabiu Umar, a former Group Sales and Marketing Director at Dangote Cement Plc, as his replacement pending Senate confirmation.
This was disclosed in a statement issued on Wednesday by Bayo Onanuga, Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy.
The sacked Chief Executive served for about four months and six days, having been nominated on December 17, 2025, confirmed by the Senate on December 19, and formally assumed office on December 23, 2025.
Onanuga in the statement noted that the President approved the removal of the outgoing Chief Executive in the public interest and nominated Umar in line with the Petroleum Industry Act 2021, with the move aimed at strengthening regulatory effectiveness in the midstream and downstream petroleum sector under the Renewed Hope Agenda.
He added that pending Senate confirmation, the most senior official of the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority will oversee the Authority’s operations in an acting capacity.
Further checks on Umar’s profile show that the President’s nominee holds a degree in Accounting from Bayero University Kano and is an alumnus of Harvard Business School, bringing over two decades of experience in senior and executive roles across the downstream petroleum and cement manufacturing sectors, with a strong focus on transformational leadership.
He began his career at Oando Plc, where he rose through various management positions within the marketing division and led a successful sales and marketing transformation programme, before moving in 2014 to Lafarge Africa Plc as Energy and Power Director and later overseeing Strategy and Business Development for West Africa, driving key projects across Nigeria, Ghana, and Cameroon.
In 2016, he was appointed Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer of Ashaka Cement Plc, where he led a business turnaround, and subsequently joined Dangote Industries Limited in 2019 as Group Chief Commercial Officer, further strengthening his track record in large-scale commercial and operational leadership.
