President Muhammadu Buhari has appointed Farouk Ahmed as Chief Executive Officer of the board of the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NPRA).
Mr Ahmed, according to the president, will replace Sarki Auwalu, who was earlier named for the position.
The president had in a letter dated September 16, sought the Senate’s approval of Mr Auwalu’s appointment.
The president’s latest announcement was conveyed in a letter to the Senate President, Ahmad Lawan, as he sought the Senate’s approval of the new appointment.
The appointment comes barely three days after PREMIUM TIMES reported concerns by some Nigerians that some powerful individuals were plotting to get their favourite candidate to head the upstream petroleum regulatory agency.
However, in Mr Buhari’s new letter, no reason was given for the replacement.
NPRA is one of the regulatory agencies established by the Petroleum Industry Act which was signed by Mr Buhari in July.
The National Assembly had passed the Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB) in July after several years it was sent to it.