Tinubu Establishes Presidential Petroleum Reform Task Force

President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has approved the establishment of a Presidential Petroleum Reform and Value Optimisation Task force to design the next phase of structural reforms in Nigeria’s petroleum sector.

This was disclosed by Bayo Onanuga, Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, in a statement on Friday.

Onanuga also announced that Mr Fola Adeola, co-founder of Guaranty Trust Bank and founder and chairman of the Fate Foundation, is the Task Force’s chairman and expected to coordinate the group’s work to ensure timely delivery of its mandate.

He named other members of the Task force as, 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 Taskforce a time-bound, high-level executive working group is 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.

Part of the statement said the initiative reflects President Tinubu’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.

“It 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 Presidency said.

The Taskforce will report directly to the President and provide monthly progress memoranda, while an interim report will be submitted after three months and the final outputs are expected within six months of inauguration.

President Tinubu expects the Task Force 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.”

President Tinubu has also 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.

The statement also quoted President Tinubu directing 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.