By Ola Kay
President Bola Tinubu has removed Mele Kyari who until Tuesday was the group chief executive officer, CEO, of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company, NNPC Limited, dissolved its board and appointed Engineer Bashir Bayo Ojulari in his stead.
The decision, was announced In a statement signed by Bayo Onanuga, special adviser to the president on information and strategy, early Wednesday the decision became effective April 2, 2025
Following the major shift, the President has tasked the new leadership to boost the NNPC’s crude oil refining capacity, with a target of 200,000 barrels per day by 2027 and an ambitious 500,000 barrels per day by 2030.
Recall that, sequel to fuel subsidy removal at the commencement of the Tinubu-led administration, the NNPCL recorded huge proceeds from the change, calling to question transparent financial management of the entity and, against the backdrop of huge financial burden which figure became unclear to Nigerians, some concerned persons and groups had asked for the removal of the group CEO, Kyari.
The statement from Onanuga revealed that the new 11-man NNPC board has Engineer Bashir Bayo Ojulari as the Group CEO and Ahmadu Musa Kida as non-executive chairman.
Similarly, Adedapo Segun, who replaced Umaru Isa Ajiya as the chief financial officer last November, has been appointed to the new board by President Tinubu.
“Six board members, non-executive directors of the entity also represent the country’s geopolitical zones.
Onanuga said, “They are Bello Rabiu, Northwest, Yusuf Usman, Northeast, and Babs Omotowa, a former managing director of the Nigerian Liquified Natural Gas(NLNG), who represents North Central.”
The statement added that President Tinubu appointed Austin Avuru as a non-executive director from the South-South, David Ige as a Non-executive director from the Southwest, and Henry Obih as a non-executive director from the Southeast.
Onanuga said, “Mrs Lydia Shehu Jafiya, permanent secretary of the Federal Ministry of Finance, will represent the ministry on the new board, while Aminu Said Ahmed will represent the Ministry of Petroleum Resources.”
Drawing from the powers granted under Section 59, subsection 2 of the Petroleum Industry Act, 2021, the President emphasised that the board’s restructuring is crucial for enhancing operational efficiency, restoring investor confidence, boosting local content, driving economic growth, and advancing gas commercialisation and diversification.
Onanuga statement further explained that the President handed out an immediate action plan to the new board, which include, among others, to conduct a strategic portfolio review of NNPC-operated and Joint Venture Assets to ensure alignment with value maximisation objectives.
“Since 2023, the Tinubu administration has implemented oil sector reforms to attract investment. Last year, NNPC reported $17 billion in new investments within the sector.
“The administration now envisions increasing the investment to $30 billion by 2027 and $60 billion by 2030.
“The Tinubu administration targets raising oil production to two million barrels daily by 2027 and three million daily by 2030.
Concurrently, the government wants gas production jacked to 8 billion cubic feet daily by 2027 and 10 billion cubic feet by 2030.
“Furthermore, President Tinubu expects the new board to elevate NNPC’s share of crude oil refining output to 200,000 barrels by 2027 and reach 500,000 by 2030.
“Special Adviser to the President (Information & Strategy) further noted that the new board chairman, Ahmadu Musa Kida, is from Borno State, Onanuga said , adding that, “Kida is an alumnus of Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, where he received a degree in civil engineering in 1984. He also obtained a postgraduate diploma in petroleum engineering from the Institut Francaise du Petrol (IFP) in Paris He started his career in the oil industry at Elf Petroleum Nigeria and later joined Total Exploration and Production as a trainee engineer in 1985.“
Musa became Total Nigeria’s Deputy Managing Director of Deep Water Services in 2015. Last year, he became an Independent Non-Executive Director at Pan Ocean-Newcross Group and, apart from his oil industry career, Ahmadu Musa Kida is a former basketballer and the president of the Nigerian Basketball Federation(NBBF) board. Ojulari, the new NNPC Limited Group CEO, hails from Kwara State.“Until his new appointment, Kida was Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer of Renaissance Africa Energy Company.
Onanuga said that Ojulari, the new CEO, on her s part is also an alumnus of Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria.
He said, “He graduated with a degree in Mechanical Engineering.”
“He worked for Elf Aquitaine as the first Nigerian process engineer to begin a stellar career in the oil sector.
“From Elf, he joined Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria Ltd in 1991 as an associate production technologist.
“Apart from working in Nigeria, he worked in Europe and the Middle East in different capacities as a petroleum process and production engineer, strategic planner, field developer, and asset manager.
“In 2015, he became the managing director of Shell Nigeria Exploration and Production Company (SNEPCO).
“During his career, he was chairman and member of the board of trustees of the Society of Petroleum Engineers (SPE Nigerian Council) and a fellow of the Nigerian Society of Engineers, ” Onanugaa disclosed in the statement.
Meanwhile, the President has praised Kyari and his management team for their dedication to service of the NNPC Limited, particularly their efforts in rehabilitating the old Port Harcourt and Warri refineries, which enabled them to resume petroleum product production after prolonged shutdowns.
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