In a major shake-up of Nigeria’s oil and gas sector, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has reconstituted the board of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited, sacking the Group Chief Executive Officer (GCEO), Mallam Mele Kolo Kyari, and the Board Chairman, Chief Pius Akinyelure.
Kyari was appointed as the 1st Group Chief executive officer (GCEO) of the Nigerian National Petroleum company limited (NNPC Limited) in july 2019 while Chief Pius Akinyelure was appointed as the Non-Executive Board Chairman of NNPC Limited (formerly NNPC), in November 2023
A State House statement signed by Bayo Onanuga, Special Adviser to the President (Information & Strategy), announced the appointment of Engr. Bashir Bayo Ojulari as the new GCEO and Ahmadu Musa Kida as the Non-Executive Chairman of NNPC Limited. All previous board members appointed in November 2023 have also been removed.
The newly constituted 11-member board includes Adedapo Segun as the Chief Financial Officer. Six non-executive directors, representing Nigeria’s geopolitical zones, have also been appointed. They are:
Bello Rabiu (North West)
Yusuf Usman (North East)
Babs Omotowa (North Central)
Austin Avuru (South-South)
David Ige (South West)
Henry Obih (South East)
Additionally, Mrs. Lydia Shehu Jafiya, the Permanent Secretary of the Federal Ministry of Finance, will represent the ministry, while Aminu Said Ahmed will represent the Ministry of Petroleum Resources.
President Tinubu emphasized that the restructuring is aimed at enhancing operational efficiency, restoring investor confidence, and boosting local content and gas commercialisation. He directed the new board to conduct a strategic review of NNPC’s portfolio and joint venture assets to maximize value.
The administration’s ambitious targets include increasing oil production to 2 million barrels per day by 2027 and 3 million barrels per day by 2030. Gas production is expected to reach 8 billion cubic feet per day by 2027 and 10 billion cubic feet per day by 2030. Additionally, the government aims to increase NNPC’s crude oil refining capacity to 200,000 barrels per day by 2027 and 500,000 barrels per day by 2030.
The new Chairman, Ahmadu Musa Kida, is a veteran in the oil sector with experience at Elf Petroleum and Total Exploration and Production. He also served as the Deputy Managing Director of Deep Water Services at Total Nigeria and was an Independent Non-Executive Director at Pan Ocean-Newcross Group.
Similarly, Ojulari, the new GCEO, is a seasoned oil industry executive with experience at Shell and Renaissance Africa Energy Company, where he led the consortium that acquired Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria for $2.4 billion.
President Tinubu thanked the outgoing board members for their service, particularly in rehabilitating the Port Harcourt and Warri refineries, and wished them success in their future endeavors.
