The Federal Government has removed Saidu Mohammed as the chief executive of the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA).
A statement by President Tinubu’s spokesperson, Bayo Onanuga, stated that Mohammed was relieved of his duty on Wednesday barely four months after he was appointed.
Although no specific details were given by the Presidency for his sack rather than citing the Petroleum Industry Act 2021, indications were that Mohammed
was sacked while he led NMDPRA delegates to the Pipeline Technology Conference in Berlin, Germany, from 27th to 30th April, 2026.
This means that in less than five months, the regulator of Nigeria’s oil and gas downstream sector, NMDPRA, has witnessed two leadership changes following Ahmed Faruk’s removal on December 2026.
Faruk had been accused of corruption by Africa’s richest man, Aliko Dangote. He resigned days after the accusation.
Dele Fashomi, seasoned journalist and communication teacher, is a holder of Master of Arts degree in Communication and Language Arts from the University of Ibadan in 1992/93.
Earlier, he had bagged a Bachelor degree from the same university in 1984, after which he proceeded to the Nigerian Institute of Journalism, Lagos, in 1990, for a postgraduate diploma in Journalism.
He had done many courses in communication, including the EU-BBC Editing Course in 2002.
Mr. Fashomi combines effectively the practice, research and teaching of communication. And to date, he has published two academic works in communication: Issues in Communication Technology and Policy (2010) and Economic and Social Issues in Advertising and PR (2013).
He had his first break in the Nigerian media in Concord Newspapers in 1990 and today, he has over two and half decades experience earned in several newspapers.
He has been part of many start-ups, such as The Republic (1987), The Comet (1999), The Anchor 2001 – 2002; Sun Newspapers (2003); Westerner newsmagazine (2005 – 2010) as Editor; National Life (2011) as Sunday Editor, and Newswatch Newspapers (2012- 2016) as Daily Editor.
Dele Fashomi is now the Publisher/Editor-in-Chief of Newstide247.com newspaper online, which he started in July 2015. He is also into biography writing, with many books in his trail, some of which he wrote alone and one he co- authored with his mentor, Mr Dare Babarinsa, entitled: Olabiyi Durojaiye – DARE TO BE DiFFERENT. He also guided and collaborated with Pa Olatunji Odusanya in writing his autobiography – AGAINST ALL ODDS. There are many other books in the works under his pen.
