October 06, (THEWILL) – The Senate on Wednesday confirmed the appointment of board members of the Nigerian Upstream Regulatory Commission (NURC)
The confirmation of the nominees followed the consideration of the report of the Senate Committee on Petroleum Resources (Upstream) at plenary on Wednesday.
President Buhari in a letter to the leadership of the Senate urged the lawmakers to confirm the appointments of the nominees.
Buhari said his request was predicated on the provision of Section 11(3) of the Petroleum Industry Act 2021, to request the Senate to confirm the appointment of four nominees as Chairman, Chief Executive and Executive Commissioners to the Board of the Nigerian Upstream Regulatory Commission.
The nominees confirmed include Isa Modibbo – Chairman; Gbenga Komolafe – Chief Executive; Hassan Gambo – Executive Commissioner, Finance and Accounts; and Rose Ndong – Executive Commissioner, Exploration and Acreage Management.
Chairman of the Committee on Petroleum Resources (Upstream), Senator Albert Akpan, in his presentation, said the nominees demonstrated sufficient knowledge of the workings of the petroleum industry, especially the upstream petroleum sector, as well as the economics of petroleum exploration and production.
He added that the appointments of the nominees satisfy the requirements of Sections 11 and 18 (1-5) of the Petroleum Industry Act, 2021.
Akpan said: “The Senate Committee on Petroleum Resources (Upstream) having screened and scrutinized the Curriculum Vitae and other accompanying documents of the nominees recommends thus:
“That the Senate do approve the confirmation of Isa Ibrahim Modibbo; Engr. Gbenga Komolafe, Hassan Gambo; and Mrs Rose C. Ndong for appointment as Chairman, Chief Executive and Executive Commissioners respectively, of the Nigerian Upstream Regulatory Commission.
“There are no adverse reports against the nominees as record checks and other forms of investigations by security agencies did not reveal any negative trace against them.”
He said the Committee was satisfied about the qualifications, experience, suitability, competence and integrity of the nominees to assume the position of Chairman, Chief Executive and Executive Commissioners of the Nigerian Upstream Regulatory Commission.
The lawmakers approved that the nominees be confirmed when the recommendation was put to voice vote by Senate President Ahmad Lawan.
Senate President Ahmad Lawan in his remarks urged the nominees to be patriotic and committed in the discharge of the huge responsibilities reposed in them.
He said their work is expected to stabilise and reposition the nation’s petroleum industry for optimum performance and profitability.
“The regulatory commission has the enormous and huge responsibility of setting and establishing the Commission as provided in the Petroleum Industry Act.
“They have the unenviable responsibility of ensuring that they commit themselves and work hard to provide the solid and stable foundation for that matter, that they don’t waste any time because time is of the essence.
“The petroleum industry will go through a reform process and the process has already started.
“This Commission is one of the huge arms of those reforms that will stabilize the petroleum industry in Nigeria. While the Senate confirms them, we expect nothing less than commitment and patriotism on their side.
“The senate wishes them the best and very fruitful tenure as they take their offices.
“We expect that the other regulatory authority for downstream and midstream will also be confirmed as soon as possible, so they also start their work immediately,” he said.
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