Tinubu Sets Up Presidential Task Force to Drive Petroleum Sector Reforms
President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has approved the establishment of a Presidential Petroleum Reform and Value Optimisation Task Force to coordinate the next phase of structural reforms in Nigeria’s petroleum industry.
The new task force will be chaired by Fola Adeola, co-founder of Guaranty Trust Bank and founder of the Fate Foundation. Adeola will oversee the group’s activities and ensure the timely execution 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.
According to a statement issued by the Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, the task force is a high-level, time-bound executive working group mandated to develop execution-ready reform plans aimed at consolidating ongoing reforms, unlocking capital in the petroleum sector and strengthening Nigeria’s global energy investment appeal.
The body will function as a technical reform group rather than a representative committee. It will consult industry operators, regulators, investors and civil society while focusing primarily on actionable policy design and implementation strategies.
The task force will report directly to President Tinubu and submit monthly progress updates. An interim report is expected after three months, while the final report will be delivered within six months of its inauguration.
President Tinubu expects the group to produce 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, the Capital and Liquidity Acceleration Blueprint, aims to unlock between $5 billion and $10 billion in sector liquidity while protecting Nigeria’s sovereign interests.
The third is a National Energy Transformation Strategy, a ten-year roadmap that will set measurable targets for crude production, foreign exchange earnings, GDP contribution and cost competitiveness in the energy sector.
The President has directed all ministries, departments, agencies and regulators to provide full technical support to the task force and submit details of ongoing initiatives to ensure alignment with the reform agenda.
Tinubu also instructed all existing committees and reform teams in the petroleum sector to align their activities and reporting structures with the new task force to avoid duplication and improve coordination.
Relevant documentation, institutional knowledge and ongoing reform workstreams are also to be made available to the task force to aid the development of a comprehensive reform framework.
The statement noted that the task force will automatically dissolve after submitting and receiving approval for its final report.
