In a sweeping overhaul of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has reconstituted the company’s board, removing Chairman Chief Pius Akinyelure and Group Chief Executive Officer Mallam Mele Kolo Kyari. This decision also affects all other board members appointed alongside them in November 2023.
The newly appointed 11-member board features 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 formally appointed to the new board by President Tinubu.
Representing Nigeria’s geopolitical zones, the new non-executive directors include Bello Rabiu (North West), Yusuf Usman (North East), and Babs Omotowa, former Managing Director of the Nigerian Liquefied Natural Gas (NLNG), representing North Central. From the South-South, Austin Avuru joins as a non-executive director, while David Ige and Henry Obih represent the South West and South East, respectively.
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. The appointments take effect immediately, starting April 2.
Exercising his authority under Section 59, subsection 2 of the Petroleum Industry Act, 2021, President Tinubu emphasized that the board restructuring is aimed at enhancing operational efficiency, restoring investor confidence, boosting local content participation, driving economic growth, and accelerating gas commercialization and diversification.
Mandate for the New Board The President has tasked the newly appointed board with conducting a strategic portfolio review of NNPC-operated and Joint Venture Assets to ensure alignment with value maximization goals. Since 2023, the Tinubu administration has actively reformed the oil sector to attract investment, with NNPC reporting $17 billion in new investments last year. The government now aims to raise this figure to $30 billion by 2027 and $60 billion by 2030.
Additionally, the administration targets increasing oil production to two million barrels per day by 2027 and three million by 2030. In parallel, gas production is expected to reach eight billion cubic feet daily by 2027 and ten billion by 2030. Another key objective for the new board is elevating NNPC’s share of crude oil refining output to 200,000 barrels per day by 2027, with a long-term goal of 500,000 barrels per day by 2030.
Profiles of Key Appointments
Ahmadu Musa Kida, the new board chairman, hails from Borno State and holds a civil engineering degree from Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria. He also earned a postgraduate diploma in petroleum engineering from the Institut Francaise du Petrol (IFP) in Paris. Kida began his career with Elf Petroleum Nigeria before joining Total Exploration and Production in 1985. His extensive experience includes serving as Deputy Managing Director of Deep Water Services at Total Nigeria and, most recently, as an Independent Non-Executive Director at Pan Ocean-Newcross Group. Kida is also a former basketball player and served as President of the Nigerian Basketball Federation (NBBF).
Bashir Bayo Ojulari, the new NNPC Limited Group CEO, is from Kwara State. Until his appointment, he was Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer at Renaissance Africa Energy Company. His firm recently led a landmark $2.4 billion acquisition of Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria (SPDC). A mechanical engineering graduate from Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, Ojulari has worked with Elf Aquitaine and Shell Petroleum Development Company in Nigeria, Europe, and the Middle East. He has held various roles, including petroleum process and production engineer, strategic planner, field developer, and asset manager. In 2015, he became the Managing Director of Shell Nigeria Exploration and Production Company (SNEPCO). Ojulari has also served as chairman and board trustee for the Society of Petroleum Engineers (SPE Nigerian Council) and is a fellow of the Nigerian Society of Engineers.
Acknowledgment and Expectations President Tinubu expressed gratitude to the outgoing board members for their dedicated service, particularly in rehabilitating the Port Harcourt and Warri refineries, leading to their resumption of petroleum product production after extended shutdowns. He wished them success in their future endeavors.
With these high-profile changes, civil society organizations (CSOs) have called for increased transparency and accountability in NNPC’s operations. The restructuring presents an opportunity to reinforce corporate governance, reduce inefficiencies, and ensure that Nigeria’s oil and gas sector delivers tangible benefits to citizens.
As the new board assumes office, stakeholders will closely watch its performance, particularly in driving reforms and meeting investment and production targets crucial to Nigeria’s economic growth.
