President Bola Ahmed Tinubu in a major shake up to reposition the Nigerian oil company has approved the reconstitution of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited board, reorganization that has relieve the Group Chief Executive Officer, Mele Kyari and board chairman Pius Akinyelure.
The change is with immediate effect and was announced by presidential spokesperson Bayo Onanuga in an early of this morning through his official X account.
Onanuga wrote “President Tinubu removed all other board members appointed with Akinyelure and Kyari in November 2023”.
Kyari was first appointed as the Group Managing Director of NNPC by former President Muhammadu Buhari and was later reappointed as the CEO of the Nigerian government oil company after its incorporation into a limited liability company in 2022.
Kyari was retained by President Tinubu after taking over the mantle of leadership in 2023.
According to Onanuga, the president also appointed a new board including a new GCEO.
“The new 11-man board has Engineer Bashir Bayo Ojulari as the Group CEO and Ahmadu Musa Kida as non-executive chairman,” Onanuga wrote.
The statement read in part: “President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has approved a sweeping reconstitution of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited board, removing the chairman, Chief Pius Akinyelure and the group chief executive officer, Mallam Mele Kolo Kyari. President Tinubu removed all other board members appointed with Akinyelure and Kyari in November 2023.
“The new 11-man board has Engineer Bashir Bayo Ojulari as the Group CEO and Ahmadu Musa Kida as non-executive chairman. 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, represent the country’s geopolitical zones. They are Bello Rabiu, North West, Yusuf Usman, North East, and Babs Omotowa, a former managing director of the Nigerian Liquified Natural Gas ( NLNG), who represents North Central.
President Tinubu appointed Austin Avuru as a non-executive director from the South-South, David Ige as a Non-executive director from the South West, and Henry Obih as a non-executive director from the South East. 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.
The statement added, “President Tinubu also handed out an immediate action plan to the new board: 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.”
President Tinubu thanked the old board members for their dedicated service to NNPC Limited, “particularly their efforts in rehabilitating the old Port Harcourt and Warri refineries,” and wished them well in their future endeavours.
“All the appointments are effective today, April 2. 2025 the statement concluded.
“President Tinubu, invoking the powers granted under Section 59, subsections 2 of the Petroleum Industry Act, 2021, emphasized that the board’s restructuring is crucial for enhancing operational efficiency, restoring investor confidence, boosting local content, driving economic growth, and advancing gas commercialization and diversification.
