President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has approved the establishment of a Presidential Petroleum Reform and Value Optimisation Task Force aimed at spearheading the next phase of structural reforms in Nigeria’s petroleum sector. This initiative reflects the President’s commitment to transforming the industry into a more competitive, transparent, and value-maximising sector capable of fostering long-term economic growth.
Chaired by Fola Adeola, the co-founder of Guaranty Trust Bank and founder of the Fate Foundation, the task force will comprise a team of distinguished industry and financial sector experts. Their primary objective will be to produce execution-ready reform blueprints that consolidate ongoing reforms, unlock investment capital, and enhance Nigeria’s position as a leading global energy investment destination.
The task force includes notable members such as Ademola Adeyemi-Bero, Osagie Okunbor, Abubakar Suleiman, Adaeze Aguele, Farouk Gumel, Phillipa Osakwe-Okoye, and Seyi Bella, with Mofoluwasho Fadayomi serving as secretary. This high-level executive working group is designed to create practical policy frameworks and implementation strategies that will improve the competitiveness, transparency, and value creation capacity of Nigeria’s petroleum industry.
In a statement released by the President’s Special Adviser on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, it was emphasised that unlike conventional committees, this task force will operate as a technical reform body. It will engage operators, regulators, investors, and civil society as consultees, focusing on actionable policy design. The task force will report directly to President Tinubu, submitting monthly progress updates, with an interim report expected within three months and final reform proposals due within six months.
The task force is set to produce three major reform blueprints:
- Implementation Toolkit for Immediate Structural Fixes: This will include draft legislative amendments, executive instruments, and proposals for institutional restructuring within the sector.
- Capital and Liquidity Acceleration Blueprint: Designed to unlock between $5 billion and $10 billion in sectoral liquidity while safeguarding Nigeria’s sovereign interests.
- National Energy Transformation Strategy: A ten-year roadmap outlining 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 has also instructed them to submit inventories of their ongoing initiatives to ensure alignment with the emerging reform framework.
Additionally, the President has mandated that all committees, teams, and working groups currently operating under various reform initiatives within the petroleum sector align their activities and reporting structures with the new task force. This move aims to streamline reform efforts, eliminate duplication of mandates, and enhance institutional clarity within the sector.
The creation of the task force is viewed as a strategic presidential instrument designed to accelerate reforms, strengthen governance structures, and optimise Nigeria’s energy resources for sustainable economic transformation. The task force will automatically dissolve after submitting its final report and receiving presidential approval.
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