President Bola Tinubu has undertaken a major restructuring of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited, firing Group Chief Executive Officer Mallam Mele Kolo Kyari and Board Chairman Chief Pius Akinyelure, along with all other board members appointed in November 2023. The announcement was made early Wednesday by presidential spokesman Bayo Onanuga. The new 11-member board will be led by Engineer Bashir Bayo Ojulari as the new Group CEO and Ahmadu Musa Kida as the non-executive chairman. Additionally, Adedapo Segun, who assumed the role of chief financial officer last November, has also been appointed to the new board.
The newly appointed board of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited includes six non-executive directors representing the country’s geopolitical zones: Bello Rabiu for North West, Yusuf Usman for North East, Babs Omotowa (former managing director of the Nigerian Liquefied Natural Gas) for North Central, Austin Avuru for South-South, David Ige for South-West, and Henry Obih for South-East. Additionally, Mrs. Lydia Shehu Jafiya, permanent secretary of the Federal Ministry of Finance, and Aminu Said Ahmed from the Ministry of Petroleum Resources will also sit on the board.
All appointments are effective immediately as of April 2. President Tinubu highlighted that this restructuring, carried out under the authority of the Petroleum Industry Act, 2021, aims to enhance operational efficiency, restore investor confidence, promote local content, drive economic growth, and facilitate gas commercialization and diversification.
President Tinubu has outlined an immediate action plan for the new board of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC), instructing them to conduct a strategic portfolio review of NNPC-operated and joint venture assets to align with value maximization goals. Since taking office in 2023, the Tinubu administration has initiated oil sector reforms aimed at attracting investment, achieving $17 billion in new investments in 2022, and targeting $30 billion by 2027 and $60 billion by 2030.
The government aims to increase oil production to 2 million barrels per day by 2027 and 3 million by 2030, while also ramping up gas production to 8 billion cubic feet daily by 2027 and 10 billion by 2030. Additionally, NNPC’s share of crude oil refining output is expected to rise to 200,000 barrels per day by 2027 and 500,000 by 2030.
The new board is led by Chairman Ahmadu Musa Kida, from Borno State, who has a degree in civil engineering from Ahmadu Bello University and a postgraduate diploma in petroleum engineering from the Institut Francaise du Petrol in Paris. He has an extensive background in the oil industry, previously serving as Deputy Managing Director of Deep Water Services at Total Nigeria. Kida is also known for his role as the president of the Nigerian Basketball Federation.
Engr. Bashir Bayo Ojulari, the new Group CEO of NNPC Limited, comes from Kwara State. Prior to his appointment, he was the Executive Vice President and COO of Renaissance Africa Energy Company, notable for leading a consortium in the $2.4 billion acquisition of Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria.
Like Ahmadu Musa Kida, the new chairman, Engr. Bashir Bayo Ojulari is also an alumnus of Ahmadu Bello University, where he earned a degree in mechanical engineering. He began his career in the oil sector as the first Nigerian process engineer at Elf Aquitaine before joining Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria in 1991 as an associate production technologist.
Throughout his career, Ojulari has held various roles in Nigeria, Europe, and the Middle East, including positions as a petroleum process and production engineer, strategic planner, field developer, and asset manager. In 2015, he became managing director of Shell Nigeria Exploration and Production Company (SNEPCO). He has also served as chairman and board trustee of the Society of Petroleum Engineers (SPE Nigerian Council) and is a fellow of the Nigerian Society of Engineers.
President Tinubu expressed gratitude to the outgoing board members for their dedicated service to NNPC Limited, particularly their successful rehabilitation of the Port Harcourt and Warri refineries, enabling them to resume production after long shutdowns. He wished them well in their future endeavors.