President Bola Tinubu has approved the appointment of 10 persons to be members of the federal government’s energy reforms committee.
The energy experts are renowned and accomplished executives in the oil and gas industry.
They include:
1) Austin Avuru – He is the Founder and Executive Chairman of AA Holdings. A trained Geologist, Avuru spent over 40 years in the Nigerian oil and gas sector after starting his career with the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) in 1980. He is the former Chief Executive Officer of Seplat Petroleum and Platform Petroleum.
2) Ahmad Rufai Zakari – 39-year-old Zakari is a Nigerian expert on financial infrastructure on power. He is the Executive Director of Gas Power Installed Fleet and Services for Nigeria/South Africa General Electric. He served as the Special Adviser to President Muhammadu Buhari on Infrastructure from 2019 to 2023.
3) Abdulrazaq Isa – He is the Chairman/CEO of Waltersmith Petroman Oil Limited, an indigenous upstream oil and gas company incorporated in 1996. He is a seasoned entrepreneur and astute businessman with over 30 years of professional experience as a banker, financial services, and Nigeria’s oil and gas industry.
4) Tinuade Sanda – She is a Chartered Accountant with extensive experience in Accounting, Banking, Risk Management, Treasury, Planning and Budgeting. She is the CEO of Eko Electricity Distribution Company. Sanda is a Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria and the Institute of Professional Financial Managers, London.
5) Segun Lawson – He is the Chief Executive Officer, President and Director of Thor Explorations, Nigeria’s most prominent commercial gold producer. He is a Co-founder of African Star Resources Incorporated, where he served as an officer assisting with financing, corporate and business development activities.
6) Olu Verheijen – She is an investment and general management executive with nearly 20 years of experience in the energy and financial services sectors. President Tinubu has already appointed Verheijen as his adviser in the Energy sector as part of recent appointments in critical sectors of the economy.
7) Doyin Akinyanju – She currently serves as the CEO of Ibile Oil and Gas Corporation. She has over 27 years of professional experience in the energy sector and has occupied several executive positions at Schlumberger and General Electric. She has extensive experience in operations management, business development, and growth hacking.
8) George Etomi – George Etomi is a renowned Lawyer, Founder, and Principal Partner of George Etomi & Partners. He has 40 years of active practice and has played a significant role in developing corporate and commercial law in Nigeria. He is a member of the Center for Petroleum Law Research.
9) Bashir Bello -He is the General Manager of Business and Government Relations at The Shell Petroleum Development Company Of Nigeria Limited. He is experienced in top-level relationship management for sales and business development and has influenced essential business deals. He is also an expert in stakeholder relations and management.
10) Ifeanyi Ajuluchukwu – Montserrado Investments Ltd is a project development, and advisory firm focused on energy infrastructure in West Africa, with projects underway in Nigeria, Liberia and Ghana. The company’s key projects are in the Oil and Gas industry but have diversified into power generation and value creation.