Follow Us on Google
From Juliana Taiwo-Obalonye, Abuja
President Bola Tinubu has approved the establishment of a Presidential Petroleum Reform and Value Optimisation Taskforce to steer the next phase of structural transformation in Nigeria’s petroleum sector.
According to a statement issued on Friday by his Special Adviser on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, the task force will design comprehensive reform blueprints aimed at consolidating ongoing efforts, unlocking capital and strengthening Nigeria’s position as a preferred destination for global energy investment.
Fola Adeola, co-founder of Guaranty Trust Bank and founder of the Fate Foundation, has been named chairman of the task force. As chair, he will coordinate the team’s activities and ensure that its mandate is executed within the stipulated timeline.
Other members of the team include Ademola Adeyemi-Bero, Osagie Okunbor, Abubakar Suleiman, Adaeze Aguele, Farouk Gumel, Phillipa Osakwe-Okoye and Seyi Bella, while Mofoluwasho Fadayomi will serve as secretary.
The statement described the team as a “time-bound, high-level executive working group” tasked with producing “execution-ready reform blueprints” to accelerate reforms across the petroleum value chain.
“The initiative reflects the President’s commitment to transforming Nigeria’s petroleum industry into a more competitive, transparent, and value-maximising sector capable of driving long-term economic growth, macroeconomic resilience, and industrial development,” the statement said.
Other News
It added that the task force would function as a technical reform body engaging industry stakeholders, investors, regulators and civil society but would focus primarily on actionable policy design and implementation strategies.
The team will report directly to President Tinubu, submitting monthly progress reports, an interim report after three months and final deliverables within six months of its inauguration.
The task force is expected to produce three key reform blueprints. The first is the Implementation Toolkit for Immediate Structural Fixes, which will include draft legislative amendments, executive instruments and institutional restructuring proposals. The second is the Capital and Liquidity Acceleration Blueprint, designed to unlock between $5–10 billion in sectoral liquidity while protecting Nigeria’s sovereign interests. The third is the National Energy Transformation Strategy, setting a ten-year roadmap with measurable targets for production growth, foreign exchange earnings, GDP contribution and cost competitiveness.
President Tinubu has also directed all Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs), as well as sector regulators and institutions, to provide full technical support to the task force. He instructed that all existing reform committees and working groups align their activities and reporting structures with the new body.
“The streamlining will ensure coordination, avoid duplication of mandates, and provide institutional clarity, thereby ensuring coherence in the petroleum sector reform architecture,” the statement emphasised.
All relevant documentation, institutional knowledge and ongoing workstreams are to be handed over to the task force to aid its comprehensive reform framework. The task force will automatically dissolve upon submission and acceptance of its final report.
