President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has approved a major shake-up of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited board, replacing its chairman, Chief Pius Akinyelure, and Group Chief Executive Officer (GCEO), Mallam Mele Kyari, along with all other board members appointed in November 2023.
In the newly reconstituted 11-member board, Engineer Bashir Bayo Ojulari has been appointed as the new Group CEO, while Ahmadu Musa Kida takes over as the non-executive chairman. President Tinubu also retained Adedapo Segun as Chief Financial Officer (CFO), a position he assumed in November 2023.
The board includes six non-executive directors representing Nigeria’s geopolitical zones: Bello Rabiu (North West), Yusuf Usman (North East), Babs Omotowa (North Central), Austin Avuru (South-South), David Ige (South West), and Henry Obih (South East). Additionally, Mrs. Lydia Shehu Jafiya, Permanent Secretary of the Federal Ministry of Finance, will represent the ministry, while Aminu Said Ahmed will represent the Ministry of Petroleum Resources.
The appointments take effect immediately, as President Tinubu invoked Section 59(2) of the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) 2021. He emphasized that the restructuring is aimed at enhancing efficiency, restoring investor confidence, boosting local content, and advancing gas commercialization and diversification.
The president directed the new board to conduct a strategic portfolio review of NNPC’s operated and joint venture assets to align with value maximization goals. They are also expected to drive reforms to increase investment in the oil sector from the $17 billion recorded in 2023 to $30 billion by 2027 and $60 billion by 2030. The new board has been tasked with raising Nigeria’s oil production to 2 million barrels per day (bpd) by 2027 and 3 million bpd by 2030, while also expanding gas production to 8 billion cubic feet daily by 2027 and 10 billion cubic feet by 2030. Additionally, NNPC’s share of crude refining capacity is expected to reach 200,000 bpd by 2027 and 500,000 bpd by 2030.
Ahmadu Musa Kida, the newly appointed board chairman, is from Borno State. He is an alumnus of Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, where he earned a civil engineering degree. He later obtained a postgraduate diploma in petroleum engineering from the Institut Français du Pétrole (IFP) in Paris. Kida started his career at Elf Petroleum Nigeria before joining Total Exploration and Production. He rose to become Deputy Managing Director of Deep Water Services in 2015 and later served as an Independent Non-Executive Director at Pan Ocean-Newcross Group.
Bashir Bayo Ojulari, the new Group CEO, hails from Kwara State and was most recently the Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer of Renaissance Africa Energy Company. He recently led the consortium that acquired Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria (SPDC) in a landmark $2.4 billion deal. An alumnus of Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, he holds a degree in mechanical engineering and has worked in Nigeria, Europe, and the Middle East in various capacities in the oil industry. He previously served as Managing Director of Shell Nigeria Exploration and Production Company (SNEPCO).
President Tinubu expressed appreciation to the outgoing board members for their service, particularly their efforts in rehabilitating the Port Harcourt and Warri refineries. He wished them success in their future endeavors.