FG launches presidential task force to strengthen petroleum sector reforms

President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has approved the creation of a Presidential Petroleum Reform and Value Optimisation Task Force to design and coordinate the next stage of structural reforms in Nigeria’s petroleum industry.

In a statement released on Friday, the president’s Special Adviser on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, said the task force will be chaired by Fola Adeola, co-founder of Guaranty Trust Bank and founder of Fate Foundation.

Adeola will lead a team made up of experienced professionals from the oil industry and financial sector. The group has been given the responsibility of developing practical reform plans that can be quickly implemented.

According to the statement, the aim is to strengthen ongoing reforms in the sector, attract more investment capital and position Nigeria as a strong destination for global energy investments.

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.

The Presidency described the body as a time-bound, high-level executive working group that will focus on designing practical policy frameworks and implementation strategies to enhance the competitiveness, transparency and value creation capacity of Nigeria’s petroleum industry.

“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.

Unlike conventional committees, the task force will function as a technical reform body, engaging operators, regulators, investors and civil society as consultees while concentrating on actionable policy design.

It will report directly to President Tinubu, submitting monthly progress memoranda. An interim report is expected within three months, while the final reform proposals are scheduled for delivery within six months of its inauguration.

The task force is expected to produce three major 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 within the sector.

The second deliverable is the Capital and Liquidity Acceleration Blueprint, designed to unlock between $5 billion and $10 billion in sectoral liquidity while protecting Nigeria’s sovereign interests.

The third blueprint, the National Energy Transformation Strategy, will outline a ten-year roadmap for the petroleum sector with measurable targets for crude oil production, foreign exchange earnings, GDP contribution and global cost competitiveness.

President Tinubu has directed all Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs), regulators and relevant institutions in the oil and gas sector to provide full technical support to the task force.

He also instructed them to submit inventories of their ongoing initiatives to ensure alignment with the emerging reform framework.

In addition, the President ordered that all committees, teams and working groups currently operating under various reform initiatives within the petroleum sector align their activities, reporting structures and work programmes with the new task force.

According to the Presidency, the move is intended to streamline reform efforts, eliminate duplication of mandates and provide greater institutional clarity within the sector.

“All relevant documentation, institutional knowledge and ongoing workstreams should be made available to the task force to support the development and implementation of its comprehensive reform framework,” the statement added.

The Presidency said the creation of the task force represents a strategic presidential instrument aimed at accelerating reforms, strengthening governance structures and optimising Nigeria’s energy resources to drive sustainable economic transformation.

The task force will automatically dissolve after submitting its final report and receiving presidential approval.

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