GistNexus – April 2, 2025.
April 2, 2025 — President Bola Tinubu has removed the Group Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Mele Kyari, and NNPC board Chairman, Pius Akinyelure, in a comprehensive shake-up of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited as part of a broad restructuring aimed at strengthening the country’s oil and gas sector. The move, in a press release by the President’s Special Adviser on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, highlights the emphasis of the administration on operational efficiency, economic growth, and enhanced local content.
Key Changes in Leadership
The re-constitution of the NNPC board was confirmed in an April 2, 2025, official statement. Restructuring is seen as a necessary measure to enhance NNPC performance, enhance investor confidence, and support alignment of company operations with national economic goals.
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The new 11-member board is required to re-chart the future of NNPC. Engineer Bashir Bayo Ojulari is appointed Group CEO of NNPC, while Ahmadu Musa Kida, a veteran oil industry professional, is appointed non-executive chairman.
President Tinubu further announced that all the board members who were appointed alongside Kyari and Akinyelure in November 2023 have been disengaged. As part of the reconstitution exercise, several new non-executive directors have been appointed to the board to represent various geopolitical zones of the country.
Appointments and Board Composition
The new reconstituted board comprises seasoned professionals, and strategic appointments were made to cater for Nigeria’s regions. Apart from Ojulari and Kida, the following have joined the new board:
- Adedapo Segun, who succeeded the position of the Chief Financial Officer by Umaru Isa Ajiya last year, is joining the board as a member.
- Bello Rabiu will represent the North West, while Yusuf Usman will represent the North East.
- Babs Omotowa, the former Managing Director of the Nigerian Liquefied Natural Gas (NLNG), will represent the North Central.
- Austin Avuru will represent the South-South, David Ige will represent the South West, and Henry Obih will represent the South East.
- Mrs. Lydia Shehu Jafiya, Permanent Secretary, Federal Ministry of Finance, will serve on the board on behalf of the ministry.
Aminu Said Ahmed will represent the Ministry of Petroleum Resources.
The appointments are with immediate effect and signal a new dawn for the NNPC as it introduces a chain of reforms aimed at revitalizing the oil and gas sector.
Strategic Goals and Immediate Action Plan
President Tinubu clarified that the revamp of the board is urgent to help the country attain various national objectives. These include optimal efficiency in operation, regaining investors’ confidence, indigenous content, and accelerating the commercialization of natural gas. The ultimate objective is to position Nigeria strategically in the world energy market and get the nation’s huge natural resources effectively developed to drive economic growth.
The President has charged the new board with an action plan to implement on an urgent basis, i.e., to conduct a strategic review of NNPC-operated and Joint Venture assets. The strategic review is intended to ensure that NNPC operations are in the long-term interests of Nigeria in maximizing value and securing sustainable growth in the oil and gas industries.
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Enlarging Investment in Nigeria’s Oil and Gas Industry
Under President Tinubu, the Nigerian government has been eager to attract high-level investments in the oil and gas sector. NNPC received $17 billion in new investment in the previous year, with the government aiming for an investment of $30 billion by 2027 and $60 billion by 2030.
In line with this vision, the government aims at raising oil production to two million barrels a day by 2027, and three million barrels a day by 2030. Similarly, its gas production will increase to 8 billion cubic feet a day by 2027, and 10 billion cubic feet a day by 2030. The new NNPC board will be ever so critical in its success in reaching such ambitious targets.
In addition, President Tinubu has placed great emphasis on the necessity to increase Nigeria’s crude oil refining capacity. The government is optimistic that the NNPC will increase its share of crude oil refining production to 200,000 barrels per day in 2027 and target 500,000 barrels per day in 2030.
Profile of the New Board Chairman and CEO
Ahmadu Musa Kida, the newly appointed NNPC board non-executive chairman, has spent decades working in the oil and gas sector. A graduate of civil engineering from Ahmadu Bello University in Zaria, Kida also holds a postgraduate diploma in petroleum engineering from the Institut Français du Pétrole in Paris.
Kida began his career in Elf Petroleum Nigeria and then worked in various roles at Total Exploration and Production. In 2015, he was made Total Nigeria’s Deputy Managing Director of Deep Water Services. Kida was an Independent Non-Executive Director at Pan Ocean-Newcross Group in 2024. Besides his corporate life in the oil industry, Kida is also a former basketballer and the president of the Nigerian Basketball Federation board.
Bashir Bayo Ojulari, the Group CEO-elect at NNPC, hails from Kwara State. Ojulari has hitherto held the offices of Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer for Renaissance Africa Energy Company, in whose leadership the consortium of Nigerian indigenous companies, on which it worked, broke through the recent record with a $2.4 billion capture of Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria.
Ojulari, a holder of a degree in Mechanical Engineering from Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, has a professional background in the oil sector that encompasses major roles with Elf Aquitaine and Shell Petroleum, where he worked in Nigeria, Europe, and the Middle East in roles including process engineer, asset manager, and strategic planner. He was appointed as the Managing Director of Shell Nigeria Exploration and Production Company (SNEPCO) in 2015.
Throughout his career, Ojulari has been actively involved with the Society of Petroleum Engineers (SPE) Nigerian Council and is a fellow of the Nigerian Society of Engineers. With his extensive experience in the oil and gas sector, he is in a good position to guide NNPC towards its vision of modernizing and diversifying Nigeria’s energy resources.
Appreciating the Work of the Previous Board
In the speech, President Tinubu also expressed appreciation to the former board members, including Pius Akinyelure and Mele Kyari, for their hard work during their tenure. Their work, particularly in the rehabilitation of the old Port Harcourt and Warri refineries, was praised for enabling the resumption of petroleum product production after decades of inactivity. The President wished them well in their future endeavors.
GistNexus Reporter Considers this as a New Era for NNPC
As new leadership comes into place, restructuring by the new board marks a start towards a new future for the company. With Nigeria laying plans for maximizing its tremendous potential in the oil and gas sectors, the new board is all set to contribute towards solutions of the intricate industry problems. With emphasis on strategic investment, expansion in the capacity for production, and enhancing operational effectiveness, the Tinubu administration targets transforming NNPC into a competitively more attractive and globally germane player within the energy arena.
The appointing of such key positions to the board from well-experienced professionals is proof of stringent resolve towards reforming, modernization, and enhancement in the Nigeria oil and gas sector, as it remains the mainstay of the country’s economy.
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Reported by GistNexus Team and Edited by Mr. Chibueze Onwuka