President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has undertaken a significant overhaul of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited, dissolving its existing board and appointing a new leadership structure. This sweeping reconstitution sees the removal of Chief Pius Akinyelure as Chairman and Mallam Mele Kolo Kyari as Group Chief Executive Officer (GCEO), along with all other board members appointed in November 2023.
The newly constituted 11-member board will now be led by Engineer Bashir Bayo Ojulari as the Group CEO, while Ahmadu Musa Kida assumes the role of Non-Executive Chairman. Additionally, Adedapo Segun, who was appointed Chief Financial Officer in November 2023 to replace Umaru Isa Ajiya, has been retained in the new board structure.
Representing Nigeria’s six geopolitical zones, the newly appointed non-executive directors include:
- Bello Rabiu (North West)
- Yusuf Usman (North East)
- Babs Omotowa (North Central) – Former Managing Director, Nigerian Liquefied Natural Gas (NLNG)
- Austin Avuru (South-South)
- David Ige (South West)
- Henry Obih (South East)
Furthermore, Mrs. Lydia Shehu Jafiya, Permanent Secretary of the Federal Ministry of Finance, will serve as the ministry’s representative on the board, while Aminu Said Ahmed has been appointed as the Ministry of Petroleum Resources’ representative.
President Tinubu, exercising the powers vested in him under Section 59, Subsection 2 of the Petroleum Industry Act, 2021, stated that this restructuring is aimed at enhancing operational efficiency, restoring investor confidence, and strengthening Nigeria’s energy sector. Key strategic imperatives for the newly appointed board include boosting local content, driving economic growth, and accelerating gas commercialization and diversification.
As part of the administration’s broader vision for the oil and gas sector, the new board has been directed to immediately embark on a comprehensive strategic portfolio review of NNPC’s assets, ensuring alignment with value-maximization objectives.
Since taking office, the Tinubu administration has aggressively pursued reforms in the oil and gas sector to attract foreign and local investment. These efforts resulted in an estimated $17 billion in new sectoral investments in 2024. With this momentum, the government aims to raise this figure to $30 billion by 2027 and $60 billion by 2030.
The administration’s ambitious production targets include raising daily oil production to two million barrels by 2027 and three million barrels by 2030. Concurrently, gas production is projected to increase to eight billion cubic feet per day by 2027 and 10 billion cubic feet per day by 2030. Additionally, President Tinubu expects the NNPC Limited to elevate its crude oil refining output to 200,000 barrels per day by 2027 and 500,000 barrels per day by 2030.
Profiles Of The New Leadership
Ahmadu Musa Kida – Non-Executive Chairman
A native of Borno State, Ahmadu Musa Kida 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 as a trainee engineer in 1985. Over the years, he rose through the ranks, eventually serving as Total Nigeria’s Deputy Managing Director of Deep Water Services in 2015. He was most recently an Independent Non-Executive Director at Pan Ocean-Newcross Group. Outside his corporate career, Kida is a former basketball player and serves as President of the Nigerian Basketball Federation (NBBF).
Engineer Bashir Bayo Ojulari – Group Chief Executive Officer (GCEO)
Hailing from Kwara State, Engineer Bashir Bayo Ojulari was, until his appointment, the Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer of Renaissance Africa Energy Company. He recently spearheaded a $2.4 billion acquisition of Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria (SPDC) through a consortium of indigenous energy firms.
Ojulari, an alumnus of Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, holds a degree in Mechanical Engineering. His career began at Elf Aquitaine as the first Nigerian process engineer before he joined Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria Ltd in 1991 as an Associate Production Technologist. Over the years, he worked in various international roles in Europe and the Middle East as a petroleum process and production engineer, strategic planner, field developer, and asset manager. In 2015, he was appointed Managing Director of Shell Nigeria Exploration and Production Company (SNEPCO).
Beyond his corporate roles, Ojulari has served as chairman and board trustee of the Society of Petroleum Engineers (SPE Nigerian Council) and is a fellow of the Nigerian Society of Engineers.
Acknowledging Past Contributions
President Tinubu expressed appreciation to the outgoing board members for their dedicated service, particularly acknowledging their efforts in the rehabilitation of the Port Harcourt and Warri refineries, which recently resumed production after years of inactivity. He wished them success in their future endeavors.
The newly reconstituted board is expected to hit the ground running, ensuring that NNPC Limited remains a key driver of Nigeria’s economic prosperity and energy security in line with the administration’s broader development agenda.
