President Bola Tinubu has inaugurated the Presidential Petroleum Reform and Value Optimisation Taskforce, a strategic body aimed at designing the next phase of structural reforms for Nigeria’s energy sector.
The taskforce is chaired by Mr. Fola Adeola, the co-founder of Guaranty Trust Bank and chairman of the Fate Foundation.
Adeola, a chartered accountant and entrepreneur, co-founded Guaranty Trust Bank in 1990 and served as its pioneer managing director until 2002.
He established the Fate Foundation in 2000 to promote entrepreneurship and wealth creation in Nigeria.
According to a statement released on Friday by Bayo Onanuga, Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, the group will function as a high-level, time-bound executive unit dedicated to delivering execution-ready reform blueprints.
Joining Adeola on the committee are industry experts including Ademola Adeyemi-Bero, Osagie Okunbor, Abubakar Suleiman, Adaeze Aguele, Farouk Gumel, Phillipa Osakwe-Okoye, and Seyi Bella.
Mofoluwasho Fadayomi will serve as the group’s secretary.
The initiative is designed to consolidate existing reforms, unlock sector capital, and reinforce Nigeria’s standing as a premier destination for global energy investment.
“The initiative reflects the President’s commitment to transforming Nigeria’s petroleum industry into a more competitive, transparent, and value-maximizing sector capable of driving long-term economic growth, macroeconomic resilience, and industrial development,” it said.
The taskforce will operate as a technical reform body rather than a representative committee, engaging industry operators, regulators, investors, and civil society as consultees while focusing on actionable policy design and implementation strategies.
It will report directly to the President and provide monthly progress memoranda, with an interim report expected after three months and final outputs within six months of inauguration.
Tinubu has directed the task force to deliver three major reform blueprints.
The first deliverable is the Implementation Toolkit for Immediate Structural Fixes, including draft legislative amendments, executive instruments, and institutional restructuring proposals.
The second deliverable is the Capital & Liquidity Acceleration Blueprint, aimed at unlocking $5bn to $10bn in sectoral liquidity while safeguarding Nigeria’s sovereign interests.
The third blueprint will focus on the National Energy Transformation Strategy, a 10-year roadmap with measurable targets for production, foreign exchange earnings, GDP contribution, and cost competitiveness.
Tinubu has directed all Ministries, Departments, Agencies, regulators, and relevant institutions to provide full technical support to the task force and to submit inventories of ongoing initiatives to ensure alignment with the emerging reform framework.
The President also directed all existing committees, teams, and working groups established under various reform initiatives within the sector to align their activities, reporting structures, and work programs with the new taskforce.
“The streamlining will ensure coordination, avoid duplication of mandates, and provide institutional clarity, thereby ensuring coherence in the petroleum sector reform architecture,” the statement noted.
The President further directed that all relevant documentation, institutional knowledge, and ongoing workstreams should be made available to the task force to support the development and implementation of its comprehensive reform framework.
Onanuga described the creation of the taskforce as “a strategic presidential instrument to accelerate petroleum sector reforms, strengthen governance architecture, optimise national energy assets, and position Nigeria’s petroleum resources as a foundation for sustainable economic transformation.”
The task force will automatically dissolve upon submission and acceptance of its final report.
Nigeria’s petroleum sector has undergone significant reforms under the Tinubu administration, including the removal of petrol subsidy, unification of foreign exchange windows, and efforts to increase crude oil production from one million barrels per day to 1.5 million barrels per day.
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