President Bola Tinubu has approved the establishment of a Presidential Petroleum Reform and Value Optimisation task force to design and implement the next phase of structural reforms in Nigeria’s petroleum sector.
This was disclosed in a statement issued on Friday by the Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga.
The task force will be chaired by Fola Adeola, co-founder of Guaranty Trust Bank and founder and chairman of Fate Foundation. As chairman, Adeola will coordinate the group’s activities and ensure the timely delivery of its mandate.
Other members of the task force 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.
Onanuga noted that the task force is a time-bound, high-level executive working group mandated to produce execution-ready reform blueprints aimed at consolidating ongoing reforms, unlocking capital within the petroleum sector, and strengthening Nigeria’s position as a leading global energy investment destination.
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The task force will operate as a technical reform body rather than a representative committee, he said.
It will engage industry operators, regulators, investors, and civil society organizations as consultees while focusing on actionable policy design and implementation strategies.
The task force will report directly to the President and provide monthly progress memoranda. An interim report is expected after three months, while the final report will be submitted within six months of its inauguration.
Onanuga stated that President Tinubu expects the group to deliver three key reform blueprints.
The first is an Implementation Toolkit for Immediate Structural Fixes, which will include draft legislative amendments, executive instruments, and proposals for institutional restructuring.
The second deliverable is the Capital and Liquidity Acceleration Blueprint, aimed at unlocking between $5 billion and $10 billion in sectoral liquidity while safeguarding Nigeria’s sovereign interests.
The third blueprint will focus on a National Energy Transformation Strategy, a ten-year roadmap with measurable targets for production, foreign exchange earnings, contribution to gross domestic product, and cost competitiveness.
The President has also directed all Ministries, Departments, and Agencies, regulators, and other relevant institutions to provide full technical support to the task force and submit inventories of ongoing initiatives to ensure alignment with the emerging reform framework.
He directed all existing committees, teams, and working groups established under various reform initiatives within the sector to align their activities, reporting structures, and work programmes with the new task force.
President Tinubu further directed that all relevant documentation, institutional knowledge, and ongoing workstreams be made available to the task force to support the development and implementation of a comprehensive reform framework.
The task force will automatically dissolve upon the submission and acceptance of its final report.