President Bola Tinubu has overhauled the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited, removing Group Chief Executive Officer Mele Kyari and Board Chairman Pius Akinyelure, along with all board members appointed in November 2023.
In a statement by Bayo Onanuga, Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Tinubu appointed Engineer Bayo Ojulari as the new Group CEO and Musa Kida as the non-executive chairman of the 11-member board.
The president also confirmed Adedapo Segun, who replaced Isa Ajiya as Chief Financial Officer last November, as a board member.
The reconstituted board includes six non-executive directors representing Nigeria’s geopolitical zones.
Bello Rabiu represents the North West, Yusuf Usman represents the North East, and Babs Omotowa, a former managing director of Nigeria LNG, represents the North Central.
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Austin Avuru was appointed as a non-executive director from the South-South, David Ige from the South West, and Henry Obih from the South East.
In addition, Lydia Jafiya, Permanent Secretary of the Federal Ministry of Finance, and Aminu Ahmed, representing the Ministry of Petroleum Resources, will serve on the board.
All appointments take effect immediately, starting 2nd April 2025.
Invoking Section 59(2) of the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) 2021, President Tinubu justified the restructuring as a necessary step to enhance operational efficiency, restore investor confidence, and boost local content in the oil and gas sector.
The new board has been tasked with conducting a strategic review of NNPC’s portfolio, including joint venture assets, to align with value-maximisation objectives.
Since taking office, the Tinubu administration has pushed oil sector reforms aimed at attracting investment. In 2024, NNPC reported securing $17 billion in new sectoral investments.
The administration now targets $30 billion in investment by 2027 and $60 billion by 2030.
It also aims to increase oil production to two million barrels per day by 2027 and three million barrels by 2030.
Similarly, the government plans to boost gas production to eight billion cubic feet daily by 2027 and ten billion cubic feet by 2030.
Furthermore, President Tinubu expects the new board to increase NNPC’s share of crude oil refining output to 200,000 barrels per day by 2027 and 500,000 barrels by 2030.
Kida, the new board chairman, is from Borno State.
He holds a degree in civil engineering from Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, and a postgraduate diploma in petroleum engineering from the Institut Francaise du Petrol in Paris.
With over 35 years in the oil and gas sector, he began his career at Elf Petroleum Nigeria before joining Total Exploration and Production, where he rose to the position of Deputy Managing Director of Deep Water Services in 2015.
In 2024, he was appointed an Independent Non-Executive Director at Pan Ocean-Newcross Group.
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Apart from his corporate career, Kida is a former national basketball player and previously served as the President of the Nigerian Basketball Federation.
Ojulari, the new Group CEO, hails from Kwara State.
Until his appointment, he was the Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer at Renaissance Africa Energy Company.
His company recently led the $2.4 billion acquisition of Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria. Ojulari, an alumnus of Ahmadu Bello University, began his career at Elf Aquitaine before joining Shell in 1991.
He later held senior roles across Europe and the Middle East, working as a petroleum process and production engineer, strategic planner, field developer, and asset manager.
In 2015, he became the Managing Director of Shell Nigeria Exploration and Production Company.
Ojulari is a Fellow of the Nigerian Society of Engineers and has served on the Board of Trustees of the Society of Petroleum Engineers in Nigeria.
President Tinubu expressed gratitude to the outgoing board members for their contributions, particularly in reviving the Port Harcourt and Warri refineries after prolonged shutdowns.
He wished them success in their future endeavours.
