Gbenga Komolafe has required experience to lead upstream commission, says analyst

Gbenga Komolafe, the recently nominated chief executive officer (CEO) of the Nigerian Upstream Regulatory Commission, has been described as an expert with the required experience to lead the commission.

On Tuesday, President Muhammadu Buhari asked the senate to confirm Komolafe’s appointment as CEO of the upstream regulatory commission.

Aliyu Galadima, a public affairs analyst, in his treatise titled, ‘PIA and Burden of Key Appointments,’ said that Komolafe has operated at the highest levels of the downstream and upstream petroleum sectors.

According to the analyst, Komolafe, with over many years of leadership at various levels of the oil and gas industry as well as the possession of three degrees in three different fields of academic research, is coming prepared for the new challenges in his new role.

Komolafe is said to have been heavily involved in strategic policy formulation and implementation in the oil and gas industry, where he clearly distinguished himself.

“The industry has ample records of how Komolafe’s steering of various downstream regulatory agencies yielded reforms that facilitated efficiency and attendant huge monetary value for Nigeria,” Galadima said.

“The PIA could do with Gbenga’s expertise to set the right foundation for implementing the law seamlessly.

“A Fellow of Nigerian Society of Engineers, Council of Registered Engineers of Nigeria, COREN and member of the Nigerian Bar Association, Gbenga’s expertise as a seasoned engineer and lawyer is required at this time to give the PIA the right impetus.”

Komolafe had served as group general manager, special duties at the NNPC as well as crude oil marketing division. He was also executive director (commercial), Pipelines and Petroleum Marketing Company (PPMC).

In addition, he worked as general manager, operations, Petroleum Equalisation Fund (PEF); general manager, operations of the Petroleum Products Pricing Regulatory Agency (PPPRA), among other roles.

As the managing director of Nigeria Pipeline & Storage Company (NPSC), Galadima said Komolafe initiated the reform and business model for maintenance and operations of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) pipelines and depot infrastructure efficiently on a private Joint Venture (JV) basis.

In PEF, Komolafe was said to have initiated operations policies for effective petroleum products supply and bridging to the inner parts of the country.

The policies were said to have resulted in the transparent bridging of petroleum products and price equalisation management that saved the government hundreds of billions of naira through institutional process expertise.

Galadima also attributed Komolafe’s success to the seamless supply of petroleum products nationwide with multiplier sectorial effect in the Nigerian economy as general manager, operations in the PPPRA.

Aside from being an engineer, Komolafe has degrees in law, industrial and labour relations and has received numerous awards.

The analyst further described Komolafe as “an expert in institutional process study and designs to curb revenue leakages and attainment of optimum national productivity.”