Korede Abdullah in Lagos
President Bola Tinubu has sacked the Group Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC), Mele Kyari, the chairman of the NNPC Board, Pius Akinyelure, along with all other board members appointed in November 2023.
Tinubu has appointed Engineer Bashir Bayo Ojulari as the new Group CEO and Ahmadu Musa Kida as the non-executive chairman, effective April 2, 2025 in a major restructuring of the organisation.
According to a statement from Tinubu’s Special Adviser on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, on Tuesday, the newly constituted 11-member board includes representatives from Nigeria’s six geopolitical zones, key ministries, and industry experts, ensuring a more balanced and efficient governance structure for the national oil company.
President Tinubu justified the overhaul under Section 59, subsection 2 of the Petroleum Industry Act, 2021, emphasizing that the move aims to enhance operational efficiency, attract investments, and accelerate gas commercialisation and diversification.
He directed the new board to conduct a strategic review of NNPC-operated assets to align with value-maximisation goals. The administration’s oil sector reforms have already secured $17 billion in investments, with projections to increase to $30 billion by 2027 and $60 billion by 2030.
Additionally, the government aims to raise daily oil production to two million barrels by 2027 and three million by 2030 while boosting gas output to 10 billion cubic feet per day. The President expects the NNPC’s share of crude refining to reach 500,000 barrels per day by 2030.
The newly appointed executives bring extensive experience to their roles. Ahmadu Musa Kida, an alumnus of Ahmadu Bello University, has a distinguished career in the oil sector, including serving as Deputy Managing Director at Total Nigeria.
Ojulari, also a graduate of Ahmadu Bello University, has held key roles at Elf, Shell, and Renaissance Africa Energy Company, where he led the historic $2.4 billion acquisition of Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria.
President Tinubu expressed appreciation for the outgoing board’s contributions, particularly in revitalizing the Port Harcourt and Warri refineries, and wished them well in their future endeavors.
