By Joke Kujenya
PRESIDENT BOLA Tinubu has reconstituted the board of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited, dismissing key executives, including Chairman Pius Akinyelure and Group Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Mele Kyari.
The sweeping overhaul also saw the dismissal of all board members appointed alongside Akinyelure and Kyari in November 2023.
In their place, President Tinubu has approved an 11-member board, now led by Engineer Bashir Bayo Ojulari as the Group CEO and Ahmadu Musa Kida as the non-executive chairman.
Additionally, Adedapo Segun, who replaced Umaru Isa Ajiya as Chief Financial Officer last November, has been appointed to the new board.
The newly constituted board includes six non-executive directors, each representing the country’s geopolitical zones:
▪️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)
In addition, Mrs Lydia Shehu Jafiya, the permanent secretary of the Federal Ministry of Finance, will represent the ministry, while Aminu Said Ahmed will represent the Ministry of Petroleum Resources.
All appointments take effect immediately, as of 2 April 2025.
Explaining his vision for the NNPC, President Tinubu, invoked the powers granted under Section 59, Subsection 2 of the Petroleum Industry Act (2021), emphasising that the restructuring is vital for operational efficiency, investor confidence, local content development, economic growth, and energy diversification.
He tasked the new board with conducting a strategic portfolio review of NNPC-operated and Joint Venture Assets to ensure alignment with national objectives and value maximisation.
Since 2023, the Tinubu administration has pushed oil sector reforms to attract foreign and domestic investments.
In 2024, the NNPC secured $17 billion in fresh investments, with a target to increase this to $30 billion by 2027 and $60 billion by 2030.
▪️Key production targets set by the administration include:
▪️Increasing oil production to 2 million barrels per day by 2027 and 3 million by 2030.
▪️Expanding gas production to 8 billion cubic feet per day by 2027 and 10 billion cubic feet by 2030.
▪️Boosting NNPC’s share of refined crude oil output to 200,000 barrels per day by 2027 and 500,000 barrels by 2030.
Profiles of the New Leaders
Ahmadu Musa Kida (Board Chairman) – A civil engineer from Borno State, Kida is an alumnus of Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria. He holds a postgraduate diploma in petroleum engineering from the Institut Francais du Petrol (IFP), Paris. With a career spanning decade in the oil industry, Kida started at Elf Petroleum Nigeria before joining Total Exploration and Production in 1985. He later became Total Nigeria’s Deputy Managing Director of Deep Water Services (2015) and, in 2024, an Independent Non-Executive Director at Pan Ocean-Newcross Group. He also previously served as the President of the Nigerian Basketball Federation (NBBF).
Bashir Bayo Ojulari (Group CEO) – A mechanical engineer from Kwara State, Ojulari graduated from Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria. His career began at Elf Aquitaine, where he became the first Nigerian process engineer. He later joined Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria Ltd in 1991 as an associate production technologist. Over the years, he worked in Europe and the Middle East, holding key roles in production, strategic planning, and field development. In 2015, he was appointed Managing Director of Shell Nigeria Exploration and Production Company (SNEPCO). Most recently, he served as Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer of Renaissance Africa Energy Company, leading a $2.4 billion acquisition of Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria (SPDC).
President Tinubu expressed gratitude to the outgoing board members for their service, particularly their role in rehabilitating the Port Harcourt and Warri refineries, which recently resumed production after years of inactivity.
He wished them well in their future endeavours.
