KEY POINTS

• Tinubu appoints Fola Adeola to chair new Presidential Petroleum Reform Taskforce.
• Panel must deliver three reform blueprints within six months, with interim report at three months.
• One blueprint targets between $5 billion and $10 billion in unlocked sector liquidity.

President Bola Tinubu has established a dedicated taskforce to drive the next phase of Nigeria’s petroleum sector reform, appointing Fola Adeola, co-founder of Guaranty Trust Bank and founder of the Fate Foundation, as its chairman.

Presidential spokesman Bayo Onanuga announced the Fola Adeola petroleum taskforce formally called the Presidential Petroleum Reform and Value Optimisation Taskforce on Friday through an official statement. The presidency structured it as a time-bound technical body rather than a representative committee, mandating it to produce execution-ready blueprints that consolidate ongoing reforms, unlock capital, and sharpen Nigeria’s pitch to global energy investors.

Three deliverables in six months

The panel reports directly to the president and must submit monthly progress updates. It will dissolve automatically once its final report has been accepted. Other members include Ademola Adeyemi-Bero, Osagie Okunbor, Abubakar Suleiman, Adaeze Aguele, Farouk Gumel, Phillipa Osakwe-Okoye, and Seyi Bella, with Mofoluwasho Fadayomi serving as secretary.

Furthermore, The Fola Adeola petroleum taskforce carries three specific assignments, each due within six months of inauguration, with an interim report after three months. The first is an Implementation Toolkit for Immediate Structural Fixes, covering draft legislative amendments, executive instruments, and institutional restructuring proposals.

The second is a Capital and Liquidity Acceleration Blueprint targeting the release of between $5 billion and $10 billion in sectoral liquidity while protecting Nigeria’s sovereign interests.

The third is a National Energy Transformation Strategy, a ten-year roadmap with measurable targets across production volumes, foreign exchange earnings, GDP contribution, and cost competitiveness.

All agencies ordered to cooperate

Tinubu directed all ministries, departments, agencies, and regulators to provide the taskforce with full technical support and also submit inventories of ongoing initiatives to ensure alignment with the emerging framework. The directive also told existing reform committees and working groups to align their activities and reporting structures with the new body to avoid duplication.

Finally the presidency described the taskforce as a strategic instrument designed to accelerate petroleum sector reform, strengthen governance architecture, and position Nigeria’s energy resources as a foundation for long-term economic transformation.