PESIDENT Bola Tinubu has sacked Saidu Mohammed as the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA) while he was on official duty in Germany.
News Point Nigeria reports that Mohammed was attending the Pipeline Technology Conference (PTC) in Berlin alongside delegates from the NMDPRA at the time of his removal.
A source who was with the former NMDPRA boss in Germany disclosed that Mohammed was delivering a presentation at the conference when he received the message informing him of his sack.
Confirming the trip, the NMDPRA had, in a post published on its official X account at about 4:05 pm on Wednesday, announced Mohammed’s participation in the international conference.
“The Authority Chief Executives, Engr. Saidu Mohammed leads NMDPRA delegates to the Pipeline Technology Conference taking place in Berlin, Germany from 27th to 30th April, 2026,” the agency stated.
However, about two hours after the post was made, the Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, announced that President Tinubu had removed Mohammed from office and replaced him with Rabiu Abdullahi Umar.
Mohammed’s removal came barely five months after he withdrew his decision to join the board of Seplat Energy as an independent non-executive director in December 2025 in order to assume leadership of the NMDPRA.
Tinubu had appointed Mohammed as CEO of the NMDPRA following the resignation of Farouk Ahmed on December 17, the same day Seplat disclosed that Mohammed would be joining the company’s board.
Following the end of his brief tenure, Onanuga said President Tinubu appreciated Mohammed for his service and wished him success in his future endeavours.
The presidential spokesman also stated that Tinubu remains committed to ensuring capable leadership in critical regulatory institutions in order to strengthen energy security, deepen sector reforms and promote sustainable economic growth.
News Point Nigeria further reports that in November 2025, President Tinubu similarly removed Ogbonnaya Orji from his position as Executive Secretary of the Nigeria Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (NEITI) while he was on an official foreign trip.
