Mallam Mele Kyari | File Image
By Valentine Amanze
Nigeria’s President Bola Tinubu has sacked the Group Chief Executive Officer, Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited, Mallam Mele Kyari, and appointed Engineer Bashir Ojulari as his successor.
The president also removed the Chairman, Chief Pius Akinyelure, and all other board members appointed with Akinyelure and Kyari in November 2023.
The Special Adviser to the President (Information & Strategy), Bayo Onanuga, disclosed the development in a statement on Wednesday April 2, 2025.
The new 11-man board has Ojulari as the Group CEO and Ahmadu Kida as Non-Executive Chairman.
Adedapo Segun, who replaced Umaru 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.
Also read: Warri Refinery re-opening: Tinubu thumbs up NNPCL
Mrs Lydia Shehu Jafiya, permanent secretary of the Federal Ministry of Finance, will represent the ministry on the new board.
In contrast, Aminu Ahmed will represent the Ministry of Petroleum Resources.
All the appointments are effective from April 2.
President Tinubu, invoking the powers granted under Section 59, subsection 2 of the Petroleum Industry Act, 2021, 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.
President Tinubu also gave the new board an immediate action plan 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 to $60 billion by 2030.
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.
……………
For more interesting stories click: nigerianewsflight.com.ng
