President Bola Tinubu has approved a major shake-up at the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited, removing the board chairman, Chief Pius Akinyelure, and the Group Chief Executive Officer, Mallam Mele Kyari.
The announcement was made in a statement by Tinubu’s Special Adviser on Information & Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, in the early hours of Wednesday.
The president also dissolved all other board members appointed alongside Akinyelure and Kyari in November 2023.
In the reconstituted 11-member board, Tinubu appointed Engineer Bashir Ojulari as the new Group CEO, while Ahmadu Kida will serve as the Non-Executive Chairman.
Adedapo Segun, who took over as Chief Financial Officer from Umaru Ajiya last November, retains his position in the new board. The board also includes six non-executive directors representing Nigeria’s geopolitical zones:
- North West: Bello Rabiu
- North East: Yusuf Usman
- North Central: Babs Omotowa (former Managing Director of NLNG)
- South South: Austin Avuru
- South West: David Ige
- South East: Henry Obih
Additionally, Mrs. Lydia Shehu Jafiya, Permanent Secretary of the Federal Ministry of Finance, will represent the ministry, while Aminu Ahmed will represent the Ministry of Petroleum Resources.
The appointments take effect from April 2.
President Tinubu cited Section 59, subsection 2 of the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) 2021 as the legal basis for the board’s restructuring.
He emphasized that the move aims to improve operational efficiency, restore investor confidence, enhance local content participation, and drive economic growth—particularly in gas commercialization and diversification.
The president also tasked the new board with conducting a strategic review of NNPC-operated and Joint Venture assets to ensure they align with value maximization goals.
Since 2023, the Tinubu administration has implemented key reforms in the oil sector to attract investment.
Last year, NNPC secured $17 billion in new investments, with projections to grow this figure to $30 billion by 2027 and $60 billion by 2030.
The government also aims to boost crude oil production to two million barrels per day by 2027 and three million barrels per day by 2030.
Similarly, gas production is targeted to increase to 8 billion cubic feet per day by 2027 and 10 billion cubic feet per day by 2030.
Additionally, Tinubu expects the new board to enhance NNPC’s crude oil refining capacity, aiming for 200,000 barrels per day by 2027 and 500,000 barrels per day by 2030.
Ahmadu Kida – Non-Executive Chairman
Born in Borno State, Kida holds a civil engineering degree from Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, and a postgraduate diploma in petroleum engineering from the Institut Francaise du Petrol (IFP) in Paris.
He began his career at Elf Petroleum Nigeria before joining Total Exploration and Production, where he rose to Deputy Managing Director of Deep Water Services in 2015.
Last year, he became an Independent Non-Executive Director at Pan Ocean-Newcross Group.
Beyond the oil sector, Kida is a former professional basketball player and serves as President of the Nigerian Basketball Federation (NBBF).
Bashir Ojulari – Group CEO
Ojulari, from Kwara State, was the Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer of Renaissance Africa Energy Company before his appointment.
His company led a consortium of indigenous firms in the $2.4 billion acquisition of Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria (SPDC).
He is also an alumnus of Ahmadu Bello University, where he studied Mechanical Engineering.
His career began at Elf Aquitaine as Nigeria’s first indigenous process engineer.
He later joined Shell Petroleum Development Company in 1991, working in various roles across Europe and the Middle East as a petroleum process engineer, strategic planner, field developer, and asset manager.
Ojulari previously served as Managing Director of Shell Nigeria Exploration and Production Company (SNEPCO) and has been involved with the Society of Petroleum Engineers (SPE) and the Nigerian Society of Engineers.
President Tinubu expressed appreciation to the outgoing board members for their service, particularly their efforts in rehabilitating the Port Harcourt and Warri refineries, which resumed petroleum production after years of inactivity.
He wished them success in their future endeavors.
