President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has approved a major reconstitution of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited board, removing Chief Pius Akinyelure as chairman and Mallam Mele Kolo Kyari as the Group Chief Executive Officer (GCEO).
The restructuring also includes the dissolution of all other board members appointed alongside Akinyelure and Kyari in November 2023.
In their place, President Tinubu has appointed an 11-member board, with Engineer Bashir Bayo Ojulari as the new Group CEO and Ahmadu Musa Kida as the non-executive chairman. The changes, effective immediately, are part of the administration’s broader strategy to enhance operational efficiency, attract investment, and drive economic growth within the oil and gas sector.
New Board Composition
The newly constituted board includes key industry professionals and regional representatives. Adedapo Segun, who replaced Umaru Isa Ajiya as the Chief Financial Officer last November, has been retained on the new board.
The six geopolitical zones are represented by the following non-executive directors:
Bello Rabiu (North West)
Yusuf Usman (North East)
Babs Omotowa (North Central), former Managing Director of Nigeria Liquefied Natural Gas (NLNG)
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 on the board, while Aminu Said Ahmed will represent the Ministry of Petroleum Resources.
Mandate for the New Board
President Tinubu, exercising his authority under Section 59(2) of the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) 2021, emphasized that the board’s restructuring aims to restore investor confidence, boost local content participation, and advance gas commercialisation and diversification. He directed the new leadership to conduct a strategic review of NNPC’s portfolio, ensuring that all joint venture assets align with value maximisation objectives.
Since 2023, the Tinubu administration has introduced several reforms in the oil sector to stimulate investment. NNPC has already secured $17 billion in new investments, with an ambitious target to increase this to $30 billion by 2027 and $60 billion by 2030.
In alignment with national energy goals, the administration is working towards increasing daily oil production to 2 million barrels by 2027 and 3 million barrels by 2030. Concurrently, daily gas production is targeted to rise to 8 billion cubic feet by 2027 and 10 billion cubic feet by 2030. The government also expects the new board to elevate NNPC’s refining output, aiming for 200,000 barrels per day by 2027 and 500,000 barrels by 2030.
Profiles of the New Leadership
Ahmadu Musa Kida – Non-Executive Chairman
Ahmadu Musa Kida, from Borno State, holds a civil engineering degree from Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, and a postgraduate diploma in petroleum engineering from the Institut Français du Pétrole (IFP), Paris. He began his career at Elf Petroleum Nigeria and later joined Total Exploration and Production, where he rose to become Deputy Managing Director of Deep Water Services in 2015. Kida has also served as an independent non-executive director at Pan Ocean-Newcross Group. Beyond his oil industry experience, he is a former basketball player and the past president of the Nigerian Basketball Federation (NBBF).
Bashir Bayo Ojulari – Group Chief Executive Officer
Bashir Bayo Ojulari, from Kwara State, is an experienced energy sector professional. Before his appointment, he served as Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer of Renaissance Africa Energy Company. His firm recently led a consortium that acquired Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria (SPDC) in a landmark $2.4 billion transaction.
Ojulari, a mechanical engineering graduate from Ahmadu Bello University, started his career at Elf Aquitaine before joining Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria Ltd in 1991. He has worked in Europe and the Middle East in various strategic roles, including petroleum process engineering, field development, and asset management. In 2015, he was appointed Managing Director of Shell Nigeria Exploration and Production Company (SNEPCO). He is a Fellow of the Nigerian Society of Engineers and has served as chairman of the board of trustees for the Society of Petroleum Engineers (SPE) Nigerian Council.
Acknowledgment of Outgoing Board Members
President Tinubu expressed appreciation to the outgoing board members for their contributions to NNPC Limited, particularly in rehabilitating the Port Harcourt and Warri refineries, which have resumed petroleum production after prolonged shutdowns. He wished them success in their future endeavours.
The administration remains committed to sustaining growth in the oil and gas sector, ensuring that Nigeria remains a key player in the global energy market.
