President Bola Tinubu has appointed Engineer Bashir Bayo Ojulari to replace Mele Kyari as the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited group chief executive officer (CEO) in a sweeping move aimed at revitalising Nigeria’s oil and gas sector.
According to a State House statement by Bayo Onanuga, Special Adviser to the President (Information & Strategy), the restructuring is part of the administration’s broader reforms to enhance efficiency, attract investment, and boost local content in the petroleum industry.
Engineer Bashir Bayo Ojulari, previously Executive Vice President of Renaissance Africa Energy Company, takes over as the new Group CEO. Ojulari, a mechanical engineering graduate of Ahmadu Bello University, brings decades of experience from Shell Petroleum Development Company (SPDC) and other international oil firms.
The dissolved board, inaugurated in November 2023, was led by Chief Pius Akinyelure as chairman and Mallam Mele Kolo Kyari as Group CEO. All members of the previous board have been replaced, effective immediately.
The newly constituted board will now be chaired by Ahmadu Musa Kida, a seasoned petroleum engineer and former Deputy Managing Director of Total Exploration and Production Nigeria. Kida, an alumnus of Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, is also known for his leadership in sports as President of the Nigerian Basketball Federation (NBBF).
Other key appointments include:
– Adedapo Segun (Chief Financial Officer, retained from the previous board)
– Bello Rabiu (North West, Non-Executive Director)
– Yusuf Usman (North East, Non-Executive Director)
– Babs Omotowa (North Central, former MD of NLNG)
– Austin Avuru (South-South, Non-Executive Director)
– David Ige (South West, Non-Executive Director)
– Henry Obih (South East, Non-Executive Director)
Additionally, Mrs. Lydia Shehu Jafiya, Permanent Secretary of the Federal Ministry of Finance, and Aminu Said Ahmed, representing the Ministry of Petroleum Resources, will serve on the board.
Tinubu, invoking Section 59 (2) of the Petroleum Industry Act (2021), directed the new board to conduct a strategic portfolio review of NNPC’s assets to maximise value and align with national economic goals.
The administration has set ambitious targets, including:
– Increasing oil production to two million barrels per day (bpd) by 2027 and three million bpd by 2030
– Boosting gas output to 8 billion cubic feet daily by 2027 and 10 billion by 2030
– Raising NNPC’s refining capacity to 200,000 bpd by 2027 and 500,000 bpd by 2030.
According to the State House statement, the Tinubu administration has already attracted $17 billion in oil sector investments since 2023 and aims to grow this to $30 billion by 2027 and $60 billion by 2030.
Tinubu expressed gratitude to the former board members for their service, particularly their role in rehabilitating the Port Harcourt and Warri refineries, which recently resumed operations after years of inactivity.