Tinubu Overhauls NNPC Board, Appoints New Chairman and Group CEO
posted 2nd April 2025
Tinubu Overhauls NNPC Board, Appoints New Chairman and Group CEO
Lagos, Nigeria – 2 April 2025 – President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has announced a major shake-up of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited board, sacking Chairman Chief Pius Akinyelure and Group Chief Executive Officer Mallam Mele Kolo Kyari, along with all other board members appointed in November 2023. The sweeping changes, effective immediately, usher in a new 11-member board aimed at revitalising Nigeria’s oil and gas sector.
Engineer Bashir Bayo Ojulari has been named the new Group CEO, while Ahmadu Musa Kida takes the helm as non-executive chairman. Adedapo Segun, who stepped in as chief financial officer last November, retains a seat on the reconstituted board. Representing Nigeria’s six geopolitical zones are non-executive directors Bello Rabiu (North West), Yusuf Usman (North East), Babs Omotowa (North Central), Austin Avuru (South-South), David Ige (South West), and Henry Obih (South East). The Federal Ministry of Finance will be represented by Permanent Secretary Mrs Lydia Shehu Jafiya, with Aminu Said Ahmed standing in for the Ministry of Petroleum Resources.
Exercising powers under Section 59(2) of the Petroleum Industry Act 2021, President Tinubu underscored the restructuring as a vital step to boost operational efficiency, rebuild investor trust, enhance local content, and drive economic growth through gas commercialisation and diversification. The new board has been tasked with an immediate action plan, including a strategic review of NNPC-operated and Joint Venture assets to maximise value.
Since taking office in 2023, the Tinubu administration has pursued ambitious oil sector reforms, yielding $17 billion in new investments last year. The government now aims to attract $30 billion by 2027 and $60 billion by 2030. Alongside this, production targets include raising oil output to two million barrels per day by 2027 and three million by 2030, while gas production is set to climb to 8 billion cubic feet daily by 2027 and 10 billion by 2030. The administration also expects NNPC’s crude oil refining capacity to reach 200,000 barrels daily by 2027, rising to 500,000 by 2030.
Ahmadu Musa Kida, the incoming chairman, hails from Borno State and brings a wealth of experience from the oil industry. A civil engineering graduate from Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, and holder of a postgraduate diploma in petroleum engineering from the Institut Français du Pétrole in Paris, Kida began his career at Elf Petroleum Nigeria before joining Total Exploration and Production in 1985. Rising to Deputy Managing Director of Deep Water Services at Total Nigeria in 2015, he most recently served as an Independent Non-Executive Director at Pan Ocean-Newcross Group. Beyond oil, Kida is a former basketballer and current president of the Nigerian Basketball Federation.
Bashir Bayo Ojulari, the new Group CEO, comes from Kwara State and was, until this appointment, Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer at Renaissance Africa Energy Company. His firm recently spearheaded a $2.4 billion acquisition of Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria’s equity holding. An Ahmadu Bello University mechanical engineering graduate, Ojulari started at Elf Aquitaine as Nigeria’s first local process engineer before joining Shell in 1991. His career spans roles in Europe and the Middle East, culminating in his tenure as Managing Director of Shell Nigeria Exploration and Production Company from 2015. He is a fellow of the Nigerian Society of Engineers and a former chairman of the Society of Petroleum Engineers’ Nigerian Council.
A Nod to the Past, Eyes on the Future
President Tinubu expressed gratitude to the outgoing board for their service, particularly for overseeing the rehabilitation of the Port Harcourt and Warri refineries, which resumed production after years of inactivity. “Their dedication has laid a foundation for progress,” said Bayo Onanuga, Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy. “We wish them well in their future endeavours.”
As Nigeria’s oil and gas sector enters this new chapter, all eyes will be on the revamped NNPC board to deliver on the administration’s bold vision for energy and economic transformation.
