President Bola Tinubu has inaugurated the Presidential Petroleum Reform and Value Optimisation Taskforce to lead the next phase of structural reforms in Nigeria’s petroleum industry, aiming to enhance competitiveness, transparency and value maximisation for economic growth.
The taskforce, announced in a statement Friday by Bayo Onanuga, Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, is chaired by Mr Fola Adeola, co-founder of Guaranty Trust Bank and founder/chairman of Fate Foundation.
Other members are Ademola Adeyemi-Bero, Osagie Okunbor, Abubakar Suleiman, Adaeze Aguele, Farouk Gumel, Phillipa Osakwe-Okoye and Seyi Bella, with Mofoluwasho Fadayomi as secretary.
The high-level executive group will produce execution-ready reform blueprints, consolidate ongoing initiatives, unlock capital in the sector and position Nigeria as a leading global energy investment destination.
Operating as a technical reform body rather than a representative committee, it will engage industry operators, regulators, investors and civil society as consultees while focusing on policy design and implementation.
The taskforce reports directly to the President with monthly progress memoranda, an interim report in three months and final outputs within six months.
President Tinubu directed it to deliver three major blueprints: an Implementation Toolkit for Immediate Structural Fixes including draft legislative amendments and institutional restructuring; a Capital and Liquidity Acceleration Blueprint to unlock five billion to 10 billion dollars in liquidity while safeguarding national interests; and a National Energy Transformation Strategy as a 10-year roadmap with targets for production, forex earnings, GDP contribution and cost competitiveness.
All Ministries, Departments and Agencies, regulators and institutions must provide full technical support, submit inventories of ongoing initiatives and align existing committees to ensure coordination and avoid duplication.
Relevant documentation and workstreams will transfer to the taskforce, which dissolves upon submission and acceptance of its final report.
Mr Onanuga described the initiative as a strategic instrument to accelerate reforms, strengthen governance, optimise energy assets and drive sustainable economic transformation.
Mr Adeola, a chartered accountant, co-founded Guaranty Trust Bank in 1990, served as its pioneer managing director until 2002 and established Fate Foundation in 2000 to promote entrepreneurship.
The Tinubu administration has implemented key petroleum reforms including petrol subsidy removal, foreign exchange unification and efforts to raise crude production from one million to 1.5 million barrels per day.
