President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has approved a comprehensive reconstitution of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited board, removing Chairman Chief Pius Akinyelure and Group Chief Executive Officer (GCEO) Mallam Mele Kolo Kyari.
This is contained in a statement by Bayo Onanuga, Special Adviser to the President (Information & Strategy), on Wednesday in Abuja.
The President also dissolved all other board members appointed alongside Akinyelure and Kyari in November 2023, replacing them with a new 11-man board. Engineer Bashir Bayo Ojulari has been appointed as the new Group CEO, while Ahmadu Musa Kida takes over as the non-executive chairman.
Adedapo Segun, who replaced Umaru Isa Ajiya as Chief Financial Officer (CFO) last November, has now been appointed as a board member.
The newly constituted board comprises six non-executive directors representing the six geopolitical zones. They include 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 on the board, while Aminu Said Ahmed will represent the Ministry of Petroleum Resources.
All appointments are effective immediately.
President Tinubu, invoking the powers granted under Section 59(2) of the Petroleum Industry Act, 2021, emphasized that the restructuring is aimed at improving operational efficiency, restoring investor confidence, strengthening local content, and enhancing gas commercialization and diversification.
The President directed the new board to conduct a strategic review of NNPC’s portfolio, focusing on optimizing Joint Venture assets and ensuring maximum value for Nigeria.
The Tinubu administration has been driving oil sector reforms to attract investment. Since 2023, the NNPC has secured $17 billion in new investments, with a target of increasing this to $30 billion by 2027 and $60 billion by 2030.
The administration has also set ambitious production targets, aiming to raise oil output to two million barrels per day by 2027 and three million barrels per day by 2030. Gas production is expected to reach eight billion cubic feet per day by 2027 and 10 billion cubic feet per day by 2030.
Furthermore, the President tasked the board with boosting NNPC’s share of crude refining capacity to 200,000 barrels per day by 2027 and 500,000 barrels per day by 2030.
Ahmadu Musa Kida, the new board chairman, hails from Borno State and is an alumnus of Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria. He has extensive experience in the oil sector, having worked with Elf Petroleum Nigeria and Total Exploration and Production, where he rose to Deputy Managing Director of Deep Water Services. He also served as an Independent Non-Executive Director at Pan Ocean-Newcross Group.
Ojulari, the new NNPC GCEO, is from Kwara State and was previously the Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer of Renaissance Africa Energy Company. His company led the recent $2.4 billion acquisition of Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria (SPDC).
A graduate of Mechanical Engineering from Ahmadu Bello University, he has held key roles at Elf Aquitaine and Shell Nigeria, where he was Managing Director of Shell Nigeria Exploration and Production Company (SNEPCO).
President Tinubu expressed gratitude to the outgoing board members for their service, particularly their role in rehabilitating the Port Harcourt and Warri refineries, which have resumed production after years of inactivity. He wished them success in their future endeavors.
