President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has approved a major restructuring of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited board, appointing new leadership in a move aimed at enhancing efficiency, boosting investment, and driving economic growth in the country’s oil and gas sector.
In an official statement released on April 2, President Tinubu announced the removal of the former board chairman, Chief Pius Akinyelure, and the Group Chief Executive Officer (GCEO), Mallam Mele Kolo Kyari. Additionally, all other board members appointed alongside Akinyelure and Kyari in November 2023 were also relieved of their positions.
New Leadership and Board Composition
The newly constituted 11-member board of NNPC Limited will now be led by Ahmadu Musa Kida as the non-executive chairman and Engineer Bashir Bayo Ojulari as the Group Chief Executive Officer.
President Tinubu has also appointed Adedapo Segun, who had previously replaced Umaru Isa Ajiya as Chief Financial Officer in November, to continue in his role on the new board.
Representing Nigeria’s six geopolitical zones as non-executive directors are:
– Bello Rabiu (North West)
– Yusuf Usman (North East)
– Babs Omotowa, former Managing Director of Nigeria Liquefied Natural Gas (NLNG) (North Central)
– 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 of Finance on the board, while Aminu Said Ahmed will represent the Ministry of Petroleum Resources.
Objectives and Strategic Direction
President Tinubu, exercising his powers under Section 59, subsection 2 of the Petroleum Industry Act, 2021, emphasized that the board’s restructuring was necessary to drive investment, restore investor confidence, increase local content, and advance gas commercialisation and diversification.
The new board has been tasked with conducting a strategic portfolio review of NNPC-operated and Joint Venture Assets to ensure alignment with value maximisation objectives.
Since assuming office, the Tinubu administration has pursued aggressive oil sector reforms to attract investment, with NNPC reporting $17 billion in new investments in 2024. The administration now aims to increase investment to $30 billion by 2027 and $60 billion by 2030.
The government’s production targets include raising oil output to two million barrels per day by 2027 and three million barrels per day by 2030. Simultaneously, gas production is expected to reach eight billion cubic feet daily by 2027 and ten billion cubic feet by 2030.
Furthermore, the administration aims to boost NNPC’s share of crude oil refining output to 200,000 barrels per day by 2027 and 500,000 barrels per day by 2030.
Profiles of New Leadership
The new board chairman, Ahmadu Musa Kida, hails from Borno State. A graduate of Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, he obtained a degree in Civil Engineering in 1984 and later a postgraduate diploma in Petroleum Engineering from the Institut Francais du Petrol (IFP) in Paris. He began his career with Elf Petroleum Nigeria before joining Total Exploration and Production in 1985. Kida has held key leadership positions, including Deputy Managing Director of Deep Water Services at Total Nigeria in 2015. He also serves as an Independent Non-Executive Director at Pan Ocean-Newcross Group. Beyond the oil industry, Kida is a former basketball player and the President of the Nigerian Basketball Federation (NBBF).
Bashir Bayo Ojulari, the new GCEO of NNPC Limited, is from Kwara State. Before his appointment, he was the Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer of Renaissance Africa Energy Company, where he led a consortium of indigenous energy firms in acquiring Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria (SPDC) in a landmark $2.4 billion deal. An alumnus of Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, with a degree in Mechanical Engineering, Ojulari began his career at Elf Aquitaine before joining Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria Ltd in 1991. He has held various strategic positions across Europe and the Middle East, serving 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 (SNEPCO). Ojulari is a fellow of the Nigerian Society of Engineers and a former chairman of the board of trustees of the Society of Petroleum Engineers (SPE Nigerian Council).
Acknowledgment of Outgoing Board Members
President Tinubu expressed gratitude to the outgoing board members for their service to NNPC Limited. He specifically acknowledged their contributions to the rehabilitation of the old Port Harcourt and Warri refineries, which led to the resumption of petroleum product production after prolonged shutdowns.
The president wished the former board members success in their future endeavors and reaffirmed his commitment to ensuring that NNPC Limited remains a key driver of Nigeria’s economic growth and energy security.
The newly appointed board members are expected to assume their roles immediately, as the administration pushes forward with its agenda of transforming Nigeria’s oil and gas sector.
