President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has announced a major restructuring of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited board, removing Chief Pius Akinyelure as Chairman and Mallam Mele Kolo Kyari as Group Chief Executive Officer (GCEO), alongside other board members appointed in November 2023.
In the newly constituted 11-member board, President Tinubu has appointed Engineer Bashir Bayo Ojulari as the Group CEO and Ahmadu Musa Kida as the Non-Executive Chairman. Adedapo Segun, who replaced Umaru Isa Ajiya as Chief Financial Officer in November 2023, has also been named to the new board.
The board’s non-executive directors, representing Nigeria’s geopolitical zones, include:
- Bello Rabiu (North West)
- Yusuf Usman (North East)
- Babs Omotowa (North Central, former MD of Nigeria Liquefied Natural Gas, NLNG)
- Austin Avuru (South-South)
- David Ige (South West)
- Henry Obih (South East)
Additionally, Mrs. Lydia Shehu Jafiya, Permanent Secretary of the Federal Ministry of Finance, will represent the ministry on the board, while Aminu Said Ahmed will represent the Ministry of Petroleum Resources.
Strategic Vision and Mandate.
President Tinubu, exercising his authority under Section 59(2) of the Petroleum Industry Act (2021), underscored the restructuring’s objective: to enhance operational efficiency, restore investor confidence, drive local content development, boost economic growth, and accelerate gas commercialization and diversification.
The President has tasked the new board with an immediate strategic review of NNPC’s portfolio of operated and joint venture assets to ensure alignment with value maximization goals.
Since 2023, the Tinubu administration has spearheaded reforms in the oil sector, attracting $17 billion in new investments. The government now aims to increase this to $30 billion by 2027 and $60 billion by 2030. It has also set ambitious targets to boost crude oil production to two million barrels per day by 2027 and three million by 2030, alongside plans to expand gas production to 8 billion cubic feet per day by 2027 and 10 billion cubic feet by 2030.
Furthermore, President Tinubu expects the new board to enhance NNPC’s refining capacity, targeting 200,000 barrels per day by 2027 and 500,000 barrels per day by 2030.
Profiles of Key Appointees.
Ahmadu Musa Kida (Chairman) – A civil engineer from Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, Kida holds a postgraduate diploma in petroleum engineering from the Institut Français du Pétrole (IFP) in Paris. He began his career at Elf Petroleum Nigeria and later joined Total Exploration and Production, where he served in various capacities before becoming Deputy Managing Director of Deep Water Services in 2015. He was recently an Independent Non-Executive Director at Pan Ocean-Newcross Group. Beyond his corporate career, Kida is a former basketball player and a past president of the Nigerian Basketball Federation (NBBF).
Bashir Bayo Ojulari (Group CEO) – An alumnus of Ahmadu Bello University with a degree in Mechanical Engineering, Ojulari has extensive experience in the oil and gas sector. He began as Nigeria’s first process engineer at Elf Aquitaine before joining Shell Petroleum Development Company in 1991. Over the years, he has held various leadership positions in Europe and the Middle East, including Managing Director of Shell Nigeria Exploration and Production Company (SNEPCO) in 2015. Before his NNPC appointment, he was Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer at Renaissance Africa Energy Company, leading a consortium that acquired Shell Petroleum Development Company (SPDC) in a $2.4 billion deal.
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Acknowledgment of Outgoing Board Members.
President Tinubu expressed gratitude to the outgoing board members for their dedication and contributions to NNPC Limited, particularly in rehabilitating the Port Harcourt and Warri refineries, which resumed operations after prolonged shutdowns. He extended his best wishes for their future endeavors.
