Targets $5-$10bn liquidity

President Bola Tinubu has approved the establishment of a Presidential Petroleum Reform and Value Optimisation Task Force, a high-level body mandated to design and sequence the next phase of structural reforms in Nigeria’s petroleum sector, with a target of unlocking between $5 billion and $10 billion in sectoral liquidity.

The task force is expected to produce execution-ready reform blueprints that will consolidate ongoing policy changes, attract new investment into the petroleum industry and strengthen Nigeria’s position as a globally competitive energy destination.

Co-founder of Guaranty Trust Bank and founder of the Fate Foundation, Mr. Fola Adeola, will chair the task force and coordinate its activities to ensure the timely delivery of its mandate.

Other members include Ademola Adeyemi-Bero, Osagie Okunbor, Abubakar Suleiman, Adaeze Aguele, Farouk Gumel, Phillipa Osakwe-Okoye, and Seyi Bella, while Mofoluwasho Fadayomi will serve as secretary.

According to the Presidency, the body will function as a time-bound, high-level executive working group tasked with developing practical reform strategies aimed at unlocking capital within the petroleum sector and optimising the value of Nigeria’s energy assets.

The task force will operate as a technical reform body rather than a representative committee, engaging industry operators, regulators, investors and civil society groups as consultees while focusing on actionable policy design and implementation strategies.

Special Adviser on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, in a statement issued Friday, explained that the initiative reflects President Tinubu’s commitment to transforming Nigeria’s petroleum industry into a more competitive, transparent and value-maximising sector capable of driving long-term economic growth, macroeconomic resilience and industrial development.

As part of its mandate, the task force is expected to deliver three major reform blueprints to guide the next phase of Nigeria’s energy sector transformation.

The first deliverable is an Implementation Toolkit for Immediate Structural Fixes, which will include draft legislative amendments, executive instruments and institutional restructuring proposals aimed at addressing critical structural bottlenecks in the sector.

The second is the Capital and Liquidity Acceleration Blueprint, designed to unlock between $5 billion and $10 billion in liquidity across the petroleum value chain while safeguarding Nigeria’s sovereign interests.

The third blueprint will outline a National Energy Transformation Strategy, a ten-year roadmap that will set measurable targets for crude oil and gas production, foreign exchange earnings, sectoral contribution to GDP and global cost competitiveness.

The task force will report directly to President Tinubu, submitting monthly progress memoranda on its activities.

An interim report is expected within three months, while the final reform proposals are due within six months of the task force’s inauguration.

To ensure coordination across government institutions, the President has directed all ministries, departments, agencies, regulators and relevant institutions to provide full technical support to the task force and submit inventories of ongoing initiatives within the petroleum sector.

In addition, President Tinubu ordered that all existing committees, teams and working groups established under various petroleum sector reform initiatives align their activities, reporting structures and work programmes with the new task force.