Mr Fola Adeola, co-founder of Guaranty Trust Bank and founder and chairman of the Fate Foundation, has been named as the Chairman, Presidential taskforce on petroleum reform and value optimisation.
A statement by Mr. Bayo Onanuga, Special Adviser to the President (Information and Strategy) disclosed on Friday that President Bola Tinubu’s approved the establishment of the taskforce which is to design and sequence the next phase of structural reforms in Nigeria’s petroleum sector.
Adeola, according to the statement, will coordinate the group’s work and ensure the timely delivery of its mandate.
Other members of the Taskforce are: Ademola Adeyemi-Bero, Osagie Okunbor, Abubakar Suleiman, Adaeze Aguele, Farouk Gumel, Phillipa Osakwe-Okoye and Seyi Bella.
Mofoluwasho Fadayomi will serve as secretary.
The Taskforce will automatically dissolve upon submission and acceptance of its final report, Onanuga said.
Further explaining the scope of the work of the task force which is time-bound, Onanuga said the high-level executive working group is “tasked with producing execution-ready reform blueprints that will consolidate ongoing reforms, unlock capital within the petroleum sector, and strengthen Nigeria’s position as a leading global energy investment destination.”
He explained that the “initiative reflects the President’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.
“It 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.”
The presidential adviser also noted that “the Taskforce will report directly to the President and provide monthly progress memoranda. An interim report will be submitted after three months, while the final outputs are expected within six months of inauguration.
“President Tinubu expects the Task Force to deliver three major reform blueprints.”
Highlighting the deliverables, Onanuga said: “One of the deliverables 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 $5–10 billion in sectoral liquidity while safeguarding Nigeria’s sovereign interests.
“The third blueprint will focus on the National Energy Transformation Strategy – a ten-year roadmap with measurable targets for production, foreign exchange earnings, GDP contribution, and cost competitiveness.”
He therefore said for the success of the assignment, “President Tinubu has directed all Ministries, Departments, Agencies, regulators, and relevant institutions to provide full technical support to the Taskforce and to submit inventories of ongoing initiatives to ensure alignment with the emerging reform framework.
“In furtherance of this directive, President Tinubu has 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 programmes with the new Task Force.”
“The streamlining will ensure coordination, avoid duplication of mandates, and provide institutional clarity, thereby ensuring coherence in the petroleum sector reform architecture,” he further explained.
The President, he further said “ has also directed that all relevant documentation, institutional knowledge, and ongoing workstreams should be made available to the Taskforce to support the development and implementation of its comprehensive reform framework.
“The creation of the Taskforce represents 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.”
