JUST IN: Tinubu establishes task force on Presidential Petroleum Reform
President Bola Tinubu on Friday approved the establishment of a Presidential Petroleum Reform and Value Optimisation Taskforce to design and sequence the next phase of structural reforms in Nigeria’s petroleum sector.
The chairman of the task force, Fola Adeola, who is the co-founder of Guaranty Trust Bank and founder and chairman of the Fate Foundation is expected to coordinate the force’s work 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 and Mofoluwasho Fadayomi who will serve as secretary.
In a statement issued by Bayo Onanuga, the special adviser to the president on information and strategy, the responsibility of the task force is time-bound.
Onanuga said the high-level executive working group has also been tasked with producing execution-ready reform blueprints that will consolidate ongoing reforms, unlock capital within the petroleum sector, and strengthen Nigeria’s position as a leading global energy investment destination.
He added that Tinubu’s responsibility 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.
Onanuga said, “It (the team) will operate as a technical reform body rather than a representative committee, engaging industry operators, regulators, investors, and civil society 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 will be submitted after three months, while the final outputs are expected within six months of inauguration.
President Tinubu expects the task force which will automatically dissolve upon submission and acceptance of its final report to deliver three major reform blueprints.
One of the deliverables is the Implementation Toolkit for Immediate Structural Fixes – including draft legislative amendments, executive instruments, and institutional restructuring proposals.
The second deliverable is the Capital & Liquidity Acceleration Blueprint, aimed at unlocking $5–10 billion in sectoral liquidity while safeguarding Nigeria’s sovereign interests.
The third blueprint will focus on the National Energy Transformation Strategy – a ten-year roadmap with measurable targets for production, foreign exchange earnings, GDP contribution, and cost competitiveness.
Tinubu has directed all Ministries, Departments, Agencies, regulators, and relevant institutions to provide full technical support to the Taskforce and to submit inventories of ongoing initiatives to ensure alignment with the emerging reform framework.
In furtherance of this directive, Tinubu has also 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.
The streamlining will ensure coordination, avoid duplication of mandates, and provide institutional clarity, thereby ensuring coherence in the petroleum sector reform architecture.
The president has also directed that 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 creation of the task force represents a strategic presidential instrument to accelerate petroleum sector reforms, strengthen governance architecture, optimise national energy assets, and position Nigeria’s petroleum resources as a foundation for sustainable economic transformation.
