President Buhari Scraps DPR, Replaces It With NURC

President Muhammadu Buhari has scrapped the Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR) and replaced it with the Nigerian Upstream Regulatory Commission (NURC).

Naija News reports that the Senate President, Ahmad Lawan, made this known on Wednesday during the confirmation of the appointment of board members of NURC.

Lawan stated that the new agency has automatically replaced DPR, and would take over its responsibilities in the petroleum industry.

The confirmation of the nominees followed the consideration of a report by the Senate Committee on Petroleum Resources (Upstream) led by its chairman, Senator Albert Akpan.

The nominees confirmed include Isa Modibbo – Chairman; Gbenga Komolafe – Chief Executive; Hassan Gambo – Executive Commissioner, Finance and Accounts; and Rose Ndong – Executive Commissioner, Exploration and Acreage Management.

He said, “The Regulatory Commission has the enormous and huge responsibility of setting and establishing the Commission as provided in the Petroleum Industry Act.

“They have the unenviable responsibility of ensuring that they commit themselves and work hard to provide the solid and stable foundation for that matter, that they don’t waste any time because time is of the essence.

“The implication of the approval of board members for the commission is that the Department of Petroleum Resources has ceased to exist.

“The Petroleum Industry will go through a reform process and the process has already started. This Commission is one of the huge arms of those reforms that will stabilize the petroleum industry in Nigeria.

“While the Senate confirms them, we expect nothing less than commitment and patriotism on their side. The Senate wishes them the best and very fruitful tenure as they take their offices.

“We expect that the other regulatory authority for downstream and midstream will also be confirmed as soon as possible, so they also start their work immediately.”