President Bola Tinubu has overhauled the leadership of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL), dismissing Group Chief Executive Officer (GCEO) Mele Kyari and board chairman Pius Akinyelure.
All board members appointed alongside them in November 2023 have also been removed.
This was announced in a statement released early Wednesday by presidential spokesman Bayo Onanuga.
The new NNPCL board comprises 11 members, with Engineer Bashir Bayo Ojulari appointed as the new GCEO and Ahmadu Musa Kida as the non-executive chairman.
Adedapo Segun, who replaced Umaru Isa Ajiya as chief financial officer last November, has been retained on the new board.
Six non-executive directors representing Nigeria’s geopolitical zones were also named: North West; Bello Rabiu, North East; Yusuf Usman, North Central; Babs Omotowa (former MD, NLNG), South-South; Austin Avuru, South-West; David Ige, South-East; Henry Obih .
Also, 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.
The statement declared that all appointments take effect immediately, with Tinubu invoking Section 59, Subsection 2 of the Petroleum Industry Act, 2021 to justify the restructuring.
“President Tinubu, invoking the powers granted under Section 59, subsection 2 of the Petroleum Industry Act, 2021, emphasised that the board’s restructuring is crucial for enhancing operational efficiency, restoring investor confidence, boosting local content, driving economic growth, and advancing gas commercialisation and diversification.”
The president also directed the new board to conduct a strategic portfolio review of NNPCL’s assets to align with value maximization objectives.
Since 2023, Tinubu’s administration has implemented reforms aimed at attracting oil sector investments.
The government reported $17 billion in new sector investments last year and aims to increase this to $30 billion by 2027 and $60 billion by 2030.
Furthermore, Tinubu’s administration has set ambitious targets for increasing oil and gas production: Oil production; 2 million barrels per day by 2027, 3 million barrels by 2030; Gas production, 8 billion cubic feet per day by 2027, 10 billion cubic feet by 2030; NNPCL refining output, 200,000 barrels daily by 2027, 500,000 barrels by 2030.
A Borno State native, Kida holds a degree in civil engineering from Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, and a postgraduate diploma in petroleum engineering from the Institut Français du Pétrole (IFP), Paris.
He began his oil industry career at Elf Petroleum Nigeria before moving to Total Exploration and Production in 1985.
Rising through the ranks, he became Total Nigeria’s Deputy Managing Director for Deep Water Services in 2015 and later served as an Independent Non-Executive Director at Pan Ocean-Newcross Group.
Beyond the oil sector, Kida is a former professional basketball player and past president of the Nigerian Basketball Federation (NBBF).
Ojulari, from Kwara State, previously served as Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer of Renaissance Africa Energy Company.
His leadership recently steered a $2.4 billion acquisition of Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria (SPDC) by a consortium of indigenous energy firms.
An alumnus of Ahmadu Bello University, Ojulari began his career at Elf Aquitaine before joining Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria Ltd in 1991 as an associate production technologist.
Over the years, he worked in Europe and the Middle East in various roles, including petroleum process engineering, strategic planning, and asset management.
In 2015, he was appointed Managing Director of Shell Nigeria Exploration and Production Company (SNEPCO). He also served as chairman and trustee of the Society of Petroleum Engineers (SPE Nigerian Council) and is a fellow of the Nigerian Society of Engineers.
President Tinubu expressed appreciation to the outgoing NNPCL board members for their service and contributions, particularly in rehabilitating the Port Harcourt and Warri refineries, which resumed petroleum product production after extended shutdowns.
He wished them success in their future endeavors.
