President Bola Tinubu has approved the reconstitution of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) board, removing Chairman Chief Pius Akinyelure and Group Chief Executive Officer Mele Kyari.
This was disclosed in a statement by Bayo Onanuga, Special Adviser to the President (Information & Strategy), on April 2, 2025.
Restructuring for Growth and Investment
President Tinubu emphasized that the restructuring is aimed at enhancing operational efficiency, restoring investor confidence, promoting local content, driving economic growth, and advancing gas commercialization and diversification.
New Leadership at NNPC
The new 11-member board will be led by Engr. 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 in November 2023, has been retained on the new board.
The board also includes six non-executive directors representing Nigeria’s geopolitical zones:
- Bello Rabiu (North West)
- Yusuf Usman (North East)
- Babs Omotowa (North Central), former Managing Director of Nigerian Liquefied Natural Gas (NLNG)
- Austin Avuru (South-South)
- David Ige (South West)
- Henry Obih (South East)
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.
All appointments take effect from April 2, 2025.
Strategic Priorities for the New Board
President Tinubu invoked his authority under Section 59, Subsection 2 of the Petroleum Industry Act, 2021, stressing that the new board must focus on:
- Conducting a strategic portfolio review of NNPC-operated and Joint Venture assets to maximize value.
- Attracting investments in the oil sector, following reforms initiated since 2023, which led to $17 billion in new investments.
- Increasing investments to $30 billion by 2027 and $60 billion by 2030.
- Raising oil production to 2 million barrels per day (bpd) by 2027 and 3 million bpd by 2030.
- Expanding gas production to 8 billion cubic feet per day (bcf/d) by 2027 and 10 bcf/d by 2030.
- Enhancing NNPC’s share of crude oil refining output to 200,000 bpd by 2027 and 500,000 bpd by 2030.
President Tinubu thanked the outgoing board members for their service, particularly their efforts in rehabilitating the Port Harcourt and Warri refineries, which resumed operations after prolonged shutdowns.
Profiles of the New NNPC Leadership
Ahmadu Musa Kida (Board Chairman)
Kida, an alumnus of Ahmadu Bello University (ABU) Zaria, holds a degree in civil engineering and a postgraduate diploma in petroleum engineering from the Institut Francaise du Petrol (IFP), Paris.
- He began his career at Elf Petroleum Nigeria and later joined Total Exploration and Production in 1985.
- In 2015, he became Deputy Managing Director of Deep Water Services at Total Nigeria.
- He has also served as an Independent Non-Executive Director at Pan Ocean-Newcross Group.
- Outside the oil sector, he is a former basketball player and President of the Nigerian Basketball Federation (NBBF).
Bashir Bayo Ojulari (NNPC Group CEO)
Ojulari, from Kwara State, was previously the Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer of Renaissance Africa Energy Company.
- He led a $2.4 billion acquisition of Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria (SPDC).
- An ABU Zaria graduate in Mechanical Engineering, he started his career at Elf Aquitaine as Nigeria’s first process engineer.
- He joined Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria Ltd in 1991 and held various roles in Europe and the Middle East.
- In 2015, he became Managing Director of Shell Nigeria Exploration and Production Company (SNEPCO).
- He has served as Chairman and Trustee of the Society of Petroleum Engineers (SPE Nigerian Council) and is a fellow of the Nigerian Society of Engineers.
With the new board in place, President Tinubu aims to position NNPC as a global energy leader while driving significant growth in Nigeria’s oil and gas sector.
