By Abuja, Nigeria
President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has approved the establishment of a Presidential Petroleum Reform and Value Optimisation Task Force to design and sequence the next phase of structural reforms in Nigeria’s petroleum sector.
The development was announced in a statement issued on Friday by the Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga and sighted by AfrikTimes. According to the statement, the task force will be chaired by Fola Adeola, co-founder of Guaranty Trust Bank and founder and chairman of FATE Foundation, who will coordinate the group’s activities 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, while Mofoluwasho Fadayomi will serve as secretary.
The presidency said the task force is a time-bound, high-level executive working group mandated to produce execution-ready reform blueprints aimed at consolidating ongoing reforms, unlocking capital within the petroleum sector, and strengthening Nigeria’s position as a leading global energy investment destination.
It explained that the initiative reflects the President’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.
The task force will operate as a technical reform body rather than a representative committee and will engage industry operators, regulators, investors and civil society as consultees while focusing on actionable policy design and implementation strategies.
According to the statement, the task force will report directly to the President and submit monthly progress memoranda. An interim report is expected after three months, while the final report will be delivered within six months of its inauguration.
The group is expected to produce three key reform blueprints. These include an Implementation Toolkit for Immediate Structural Fixes, which will contain draft legislative amendments, executive instruments and institutional restructuring proposals. Another deliverable is the Capital and Liquidity Acceleration Blueprint aimed at unlocking between $5 billion and $10 billion in sectoral liquidity while safeguarding Nigeria’s sovereign interests.
The third blueprint will focus on a National Energy Transformation Strategy, a ten-year roadmap with measurable targets for production, foreign exchange earnings, GDP contribution and cost competitiveness.
President Tinubu has directed all ministries, departments, agencies, regulators and relevant institutions to provide full technical support to the task force and submit inventories of ongoing initiatives to ensure alignment with the emerging reform framework.
He also directed that all existing committees, teams and working groups established under various reform initiatives in the petroleum sector align their activities, reporting structures and work programmes with the new task force to avoid duplication and ensure policy coherence.
The presidency added that all relevant documentation, institutional knowledge and ongoing workstreams within the sector should be made available to the task force to support the development and implementation of a comprehensive reform framework.
