President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has endorsed a comprehensive reshuffle within the leadership of NNPC Limited, resulting in the removal of Chairman Chief Pius Akinyelure and Group CEO Mallam Mele Kolo Kyari from their positions.
President Tinubu dismissed all the board members who were appointed alongside Akinyelure and Kyari in November 2023.
The newly appointed 11-member board features Engineer Bashir Bayo Ojulari as the Group CEO and Ahmadu Musa Kida serving as the non-executive chairman.
Adedapo Segun, who took over from Umaru Isa Ajiya as chief financial officer last November, has now been named to the new board by President Tinubu.
The six board members, serving as non-executive directors, represent different geopolitical regions of the country. These include Bello Rabiu from the Northwest, Yusuf Usman from the Northeast, and Babs Omotowa from the North Central region, with his background including service as a former managing director at Nigerian Liquefied Natural Gas (NLNG).
President Tinubu has named Austin Avuru as a non-executive director representing the South-South region, David Ige as a non-executive director hailing from the South-West zone, and Henry Obih as a non-executive director originating from the South-East area.
Mrs Lydia Shehu Jafiya, the permanent secretary at the Federal Ministry of Finance, will serve as the representative for her ministry on the new board, whereas Aminu Said Ahmed will represent the Ministry of Petroleum Resources.
Every appointment is effective as of today, April 2.
President Tinubu highlighted, using the authority provided by Section 59, clause 2 of the Petroleum Industry Act from 2021, that reshaping the board is essential for improving operational effectiveness, rebuilding trust among investors, increasing local participation, stimulating economic expansion, and promoting gas commerce and variety.
President Tinubu presented an urgent action plan to the newly appointed board members: they must undertake a comprehensive evaluation of both NNPC-managed assets and joint venture holdings to guarantee consistency with their goals for maximizing value.
Starting from 2023, the Tinubu government introduced changes in the oil industry aimed at boosting investor interest. According to last year’s report by NNPC, there was an influx of $17 billion in fresh investments into this field. The current plan set forth by the administration aims to elevate these investments to $30 billion by 2027 and further up to $60 billion by 2030.
The Tinubu administration aims to boost oil output to two million barrels per day by 2027 and triple that figure to three million barrels per day by 2030. At the same time, the government plans to increase gas production to 8 billion cubic feet per day by 2027 and further ramp up to 10 billion cubic feet per day by 2030.
In addition, President Tinubu anticipates that the newly appointed board will boost NNPC’s contribution to Nigeria’s crude oil refining capacity to 200,000 barrels per day by 2027 and aims for an increase to 500,000 barrels per day by 2030.
The newly appointed chairperson of the board, Ahmadu Musa Kida, hails from Borno State. In 1984, he graduated with a degree in civil engineering from Ahmadu Bello University located in Zaria. Additionally, Mr. Kida earned a postgraduate diploma in petroleum engineering from the Institut Francaise du Petrol (IFP), situated in Paris.
He began his professional journey in the petroleum sector with Elf Petroleum Nigeria before moving on to join Total Exploration and Production as an engineering trainee in 1985.
In 2015, Musa took up the position of Deputy Managing Director for Deep Water Services at Total Nigeria. The previous year, he was appointed as an Independent Non-Executive Director at Pan Ocean-Newcross Group.
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, He was Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer of Renaissance Africa Energy Company. His Renaissance recently led a consortium of indigenous energy firms in the landmark acquisition of the entire equity holding in the Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria (SPDC), worth $2.4 billion.
Like Kida, Ojulari is also an alumnus of Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria. 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.
Aside from his work in Nigeria, he has also held various roles such as petroleum process and production engineering, strategic planning, field development, and asset management across Europe and the Middle East. He assumed the position of Managing Director at SNEPCO (Shell Nigeria Exploration and Production Company) in 2015.
Throughout his career, he served as both the chairperson and a trustee for the SPE Nigerian Council within the Society of Petroleum Engineers, and he was also recognized as a fellow of the Nigerian Society of Engineers.
President Tinubu expressed his gratitude to the former board members of NNPC Limited for their committed service, highlighting their work in reviving the outdated facilities at the Port Harcourt and Warri refineries. This restoration allowed these plants to restart producing petroleum products following extended periods of downtime. He also conveyed his best wishes as they move forward into new opportunities.
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