Tinubu Reshuffles NNPC Limited Board: Appoints New Chairman, Group CEO

In a bold move to revamp Nigeria’s oil sector, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has approved a sweeping reconstitution of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited board. The restructuring sees the removal of Chief Pius Akinyelure as chairman and Mallam Mele Kolo Kyari as the group chief executive officer (GCEO), along with all other board members appointed in November 2023.

The newly constituted 11-member board will now be led by 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 the chief financial officer last year, has also been appointed to the board.

Six non-executive directors have been appointed to represent Nigeria’s geopolitical zones. They include:

Bello Rabiu (North West)

Yusuf Usman (North East)

Babs Omotowa, former Managing Director of the Nigerian Liquefied Natural Gas (NLNG) (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.

The appointments take effect immediately.

Strategic Overhaul for Economic Growth

Invoking the powers granted under Section 59, subsection 2 of the Petroleum Industry Act, 2021, President Tinubu emphasized that the board’s restructuring is vital to “enhancing operational efficiency, restoring investor confidence, boosting local content, driving economic growth, and advancing gas commercialization and diversification.”

The president has tasked the new board with an urgent mandate: conduct a strategic portfolio review of NNPC-operated and joint venture assets to ensure alignment with value maximization objectives.

Expanding Nigeria’s Oil and Gas Investments

Since taking office, the Tinubu administration has pursued significant oil sector reforms to attract foreign and domestic investment. In 2023, NNPC reported securing $17 billion in new investments. The government aims to increase this figure to $30 billion by 2027 and $60 billion by 2030.

The administration is also targeting an increase in crude oil production to two million barrels per day by 2027 and three million barrels daily by 2030. Additionally, gas production is expected to reach eight billion cubic feet per day by 2027 and ten billion cubic feet by 2030.

President Tinubu has also set an ambitious goal for the NNPC board: elevate the company’s share of crude oil refining output to 200,000 barrels per day by 2027 and expand to 500,000 barrels per day by 2030.

Meet the New Leadership

Ahmadu Musa Kida – Board Chairman

Ahmadu Musa Kida hails from Borno State and is an alumnus of Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, where he earned a degree in civil engineering in 1984. He also obtained a postgraduate diploma in petroleum engineering from the Institut Francaise du Petrol (IFP) in Paris.

Kida’s career in the oil industry began at Elf Petroleum Nigeria. He later joined Total Exploration and Production in 1985, where he rose to the position of Deputy Managing Director of Deep Water Services in 2015. He currently serves as an Independent Non-Executive Director at Pan Ocean-Newcross Group. Beyond his oil industry career, Kida is a former basketball player and the president of the Nigerian Basketball Federation (NBBF).

Bashir Bayo Ojulari – Group CEO

Bashir Bayo Ojulari, the new GCEO of NNPC Limited, hails from Kwara State. Before his appointment, he was Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer of Renaissance Africa Energy Company. Under his leadership, Renaissance spearheaded a landmark acquisition of the entire equity holding in Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria (SPDC) in a deal worth $2.4 billion.

Ojulari, also an alumnus of Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, holds a degree in Mechanical Engineering. His career in the oil sector began at Elf Aquitaine as the first Nigerian process engineer. He later joined Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria Ltd in 1991 as an associate production technologist and has worked extensively in Europe and the Middle East in various strategic roles, including petroleum process engineering, field development, and asset management.

Ojulari previously served as the Managing Director of Shell Nigeria Exploration and Production Company (SNEPCO) and has held prominent positions in industry organizations such as the Society of Petroleum Engineers (SPE Nigerian Council) and the Nigerian Society of Engineers.

President Tinubu Appreciates Outgoing Board Members

President Tinubu expressed gratitude to the outgoing board members for their contributions to NNPC Limited. He particularly commended their role in rehabilitating the Port Harcourt and Warri refineries, which resumed petroleum product production after prolonged shutdowns. He wished them well in their future endeavors.

This strategic shake-up signals the administration’s commitment to revitalizing Nigeria’s petroleum sector and positioning NNPC Limited for a competitive global energy market.