President Bola Tinubu has appointed Engineer Bashir Bayo Ojulari as the new group chief executive officer (CEO) of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited, succeeding Mele Kyari.According to a statement by presidential spokesman Bayo Onanuga, Tinubu has also removed Chief Pius Akinyelure from his position as chairman of the NNPCL board, appointing Ahmadu Musa Kida as his replacement.
The president’s actions extend to dismissing all other board members who were appointed alongside Akinyelure and Kyari in November 2023.
The newly constituted 11-member board features Engineer Bashir Bayo Ojulari as the Group CEO and Ahmadu Musa Kida as the non-executive chairman,” Onanuga announced.Adedapo Segun, who took over as chief financial officer from Umaru Isa Ajiya last November, has also been appointed to the new board by President Tinubu.
The board includes six non-executive directors representing Nigeria’s geopolitical zones: Bello Rabiu from the North West, Yusuf Usman from the North East, and Babs Omotowa, the former managing director of Nigerian Liquified Natural Gas (NLNG), representing the North Central zone. Additionally, Austin Avuru serves as a non-executive director from the South-South, David Ige from the South West, and Henry Obih from the South East.Mrs. Lydia Shehu Jafiya, permanent secretary of the Federal Ministry of Finance, will represent the ministry on the new board, while Aminu Said Ahmed will represent the Ministry of Petroleum Resources.
All appointments take effect today, April 2.Utilizing his authority under Section 59, subsection 2 of the Petroleum Industry Act, 2021, President Tinubu highlighted the necessity of restructuring the board to improve operational efficiency, restore investor confidence, enhance local content, drive economic growth, and advance gas commercialization and diversification.
He also provided the new board with an immediate action plan to conduct a strategic portfolio review of NNPC-operated and Joint Venture Assets to ensure alignment with value maximization objectives.“Since 2023, the Tinubu administration has undertaken reforms in the oil sector to attract investment. Last year, NNPC secured $17 billion in new investments in the sector.
The administration aims to increase this investment to $30 billion by 2027 and $60 billion by 2030,” Onanuga stated.
The Tinubu administration is working towards raising oil production to two million barrels per day by 2027 and three million daily by 2030, while also targeting gas production to increase to 8 billion cubic feet daily by 2027 and 10 billion cubic feet by 2030.“Moreover, President Tinubu expects the new board to boost NNPC’s share of crude oil refining output to 200,000 barrels per day by 2027, escalating to 500,000 by 2030.
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