Senate screens nominees for appointment into Upstream Regulatory Commission

The Senate Committees on Petroleum Upstream and Downstream on Monday screened President Muhammadu Buhari’s nominees for the positions of Chairman and members of the Upstream Regulatory Commission (URC).

Also screened were nominees for appointment into the Nigerian Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NPRA).

President of the Senate, Alhaji Ahmad Lawan, had on Sept. 22 referred the nominees for screening and other legislative inputs to the Petroleum Committees on Upstream and Downstream.

Our correspondent reports that the nominees, who were screened included the designates for the newly established Boards of the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream, Nigerian Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NPRA) and the URC.

Those screened for NPRA were Idaere Gogo Ogan (Chairman), Sarki Auwalu (Chief Executive); Abiodun Adeniji (Executive Director, Finance and Accounts) and Ogbugo Ukoha (Executive Director, Distributions Systems, Storage and Retail Infrastructure).

The nominees for URC were Isa Ibrahim Modibo (Chairman) Gbenga Komolafe (Chief Executive) Hassan Gambo (Executive Commissioner, Finance and Accounts); and Ms Rose Ndong (Executive Commissioner, Exploration and Acreage Management).

The Chairman of the Committee on Petroleum Upstream, Sen. Bassey Akpan (PDP-Akwa Ibom) in his opening remark, said the screening exercise was an all-important exercise for the petroleum industry.

He said that given the confidence reposed on the Senate, President Muhammadu Buhari had signed the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) shortly after his return from medical vacation.

He described the passage of the PIA as a bold step occasioned by effective collaboration between the arms of government, pointing out that it has yielded an extra ordinary result.

He said the committee would work assiduously to ensure the kick-starting of the new era in the petroleum industry.

He congratulated the nominees and pledged the committees’ commitment through effective oversight by ensuring a smooth beginning for the appointees, if confirmed by the senate at plenary.

Akpan said the senate president had urged the committee to turn in the report of the screening at plenary on Oct. 6.