President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has officially approved the establishment of a Presidential Petroleum Reform and Value Optimisation Taskforce, marking a significant step towards coordinating the next phase of structural reforms within Nigeria’s crucial petroleum sector. This pivotal announcement was made on March 13, 2026, via a statement signed by Bayo Onanuga, Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy. The Taskforce is designed to be a time-bound, high-level executive working group, tasked with producing execution-ready reform blueprints to consolidate existing reforms, unlock substantial capital within the sector, and solidify Nigeria's standing as a premier global energy investment destination.

At the helm of this crucial initiative is Fola Adeola, co-founder of Guaranty Trust Bank (GTB) and founder of FATE Foundation, who will serve as the Taskforce's chairman, coordinating its activities and ensuring the timely fulfillment of its mandate. He will lead a distinguished group of industry and financial experts, including Ademola Adeyemi-Bero, Osagie Okunbor, Abubakar Suleiman, Adaeze Aguele, Farouk Gumel, Phillipa Osakwe-Okoye, and Seyi Bella. Mofoluwasho Fadayomi has been appointed to serve as the secretary.

The initiative underscores President Tinubu’s unwavering commitment to transforming Nigeria’s petroleum industry into a more competitive, transparent, and value-maximising sector. This transformation is expected to drive long-term economic growth, enhance macroeconomic resilience, and foster industrial development. Operating as a technical reform body rather than a traditional representative committee, the Taskforce will strategically engage industry operators, regulators, investors, and civil society organizations as consultees, while maintaining a sharp focus on actionable policy design and implementation strategies.

The Taskforce will report directly to the President, providing monthly progress memoranda to ensure accountability and track advancements. An interim report detailing its initial findings and recommendations is expected within three months of its inauguration, with the final comprehensive outputs anticipated within six months. Upon the submission and acceptance of its final report by the President, the Taskforce will automatically dissolve.

Three major reform blueprints are specifically expected from the Taskforce. Firstly, an 'Implementation Toolkit for Immediate Structural Fixes' will be developed, encompassing draft legislative amendments, executive instruments, and proposals for institutional restructuring within the sector. Secondly, the 'Capital & Liquidity Acceleration Blueprint' aims to unlock an estimated $5–10 billion in sectoral investment liquidity, meticulously safeguarding Nigeria’s sovereign interests throughout the process. The third deliverable is the 'National Energy Transformation Strategy,' a robust ten-year roadmap outlining measurable targets for crude oil production, foreign exchange earnings, contribution to Gross Domestic Product (GDP), and global cost competitiveness.

To ensure seamless coordination and support, President Tinubu has issued explicit directives to all Ministries, Departments, Agencies (MDAs), regulators, and relevant institutions across the oil and gas sector. They are mandated to provide full technical support to the Taskforce and submit inventories of their ongoing reform initiatives, ensuring alignment with the emerging reform framework. Furthermore, all existing committees, teams, and working groups operating under different reform initiatives in the sector have been instructed to align their activities, reporting structures, and programmes with the new Taskforce. This measure is intended to streamline operations, prevent duplication of mandates, and significantly improve overall coordination within the petroleum sector’s reform architecture. All relevant documentation, institutional knowledge, and ongoing workstreams are to be made available to the Taskforce to aid in developing and implementing its comprehensive reform framework.

The creation of this Presidential Petroleum Reform and Value Optimisation Taskforce represents a strategic and decisive move to accelerate reforms in the petroleum industry, strengthen governance structures, optimise national energy assets, and ultimately position Nigeria’s vast petroleum resources as a foundational pillar for sustainable economic transformation.