President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has approved the creation of a Presidential Petroleum Reform and Value Optimisation Taskforce aimed at advancing the next phase of structural reforms within Nigeria’s oil and gas sector.
The initiative, announced in a State House press release by Bayo Onanuga, Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, is designed to strengthen governance, unlock investment opportunities, and improve the overall competitiveness of Nigeria’s petroleum industry.
Leading the newly established task force is Fola Adeola, co-founder of Guaranty Trust Bank and founder of the Fate Foundation. As chairman, Adeola will coordinate the group’s work and ensure that its mandate is delivered within the specified timeframe.
Other members of the task force include industry and financial experts such as Ademola Adeyemi-Bero, Osagie Okunbor, Abubakar Suleiman, Adaeze Aguele, Farouk Gumel, Phillipa Osakwe-Okoye and Seyi Bella. Mofoluwasho Fadayomi will serve as the secretary of the task force.
The committee has been structured as a time-bound, high-level executive working group responsible for producing practical and implementation-ready reform frameworks. Its primary objective is to consolidate existing petroleum sector reforms, unlock capital within the industry, and position Nigeria as a more attractive destination for global energy investments.
According to the presidency, the task force will operate primarily as a technical reform body rather than a representative committee. It will engage stakeholders across the industry including regulators, investors, operators, and civil society while focusing on policy design and practical strategies for effective implementation.
The task force will report directly to President Tinubu and provide monthly progress updates. An interim report is expected after three months, while the final report is scheduled for submission within six months of its inauguration.
As part of its mandate, the task force will deliver three key reform blueprints. The first is an Implementation Toolkit for Immediate Structural Fixes, which will include draft legislative amendments, executive policy instruments, and proposals for institutional restructuring within the petroleum sector.
The second output will be a Capital and Liquidity Acceleration Blueprint aimed at unlocking between $5 billion and $10 billion in sector-wide liquidity while safeguarding Nigeria’s sovereign economic interests.
The third deliverable is the National Energy Transformation Strategy a ten-year roadmap that will outline measurable targets for oil and gas production, foreign exchange earnings, GDP contribution, and overall cost competitiveness within the sector.
President Tinubu has directed all Ministries, Departments, and Agencies, as well as regulators and relevant institutions, to provide full technical support to the task force. These institutions are also required to submit details of ongoing initiatives to ensure alignment with the new reform framework.
In addition, the President has instructed existing committees, teams, and working groups operating within the petroleum reform space to harmonize their activities, reporting structures, and programmes with the new task force. The move is expected to eliminate duplication of responsibilities and improve coordination across the sector.
All relevant documentation, institutional knowledge, and ongoing reform efforts are also to be made available to the task force to support the development of a comprehensive reform framework.
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The presidency noted that the establishment of the task force represents a strategic step toward accelerating petroleum sector reforms, strengthening governance, optimizing national energy assets, and positioning Nigeria’s petroleum resources as a key driver of long-term economic transformation.
The task force will automatically dissolve after the submission and acceptance of its final report.