In a major shakeup of Nigeria’s state-owned oil company, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has overhauled the board of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL), replacing the chairman, Chief Pius Akinyelure, and the group chief executive officer, Mallam Mele Kolo Kyari, along with all other board members appointed in November 2023.
The new 11-member board, effective April 2, 2025, will be led by Engineer Bashir Bayo Ojulari as the Group CEO and Ahmadu Musa Kida as the non-executive chairman. Adedapo Segun, who took over as chief financial officer last November, has also been named to the board. Six non-executive directors representing Nigeria’s geopolitical zones and two representatives from the Ministries of Finance and Petroleum Resources complete the lineup.
President Tinubu, exercising his authority under the Petroleum Industry Act of 2021, stated that the restructuring aims to boost operational efficiency, restore investor confidence, promote local content, drive economic growth, and advance gas commercialization and diversification. He tasked the new board with conducting a strategic review of NNPCL’s assets to maximize value.The administration’s oil sector reforms since 2023 have already attracted $17 billion in new investments, with ambitious targets of $30 billion by 2027 and $60 billion by 2030. Oil production goals are set at two million barrels per day by 2027 and three million by 2030, while gas production is expected to reach 8 billion cubic feet daily by 2027 and 10 billion by 2030. The president also wants NNPCL’s crude oil refining output to hit 200,000 barrels by 2027 and 500,000 by 2030.
New board chairman Ahmadu Musa Kida, a civil engineering graduate from Ahmadu Bello University and former basketballer, brings extensive oil industry experience from roles at Elf Petroleum, Total Nigeria, and Pan Ocean-Newcross Group. Group CEO Bashir Bayo Ojulari, also an Ahmadu Bello alumnus with a mechanical engineering degree, previously led Renaissance Africa Energy Company and spearheaded a $2.4bn acquisition of Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria’s equity.
President Tinubu expressed gratitude to the outgoing board for their service, particularly in reviving the Port Harcourt and Warri refineries, and wished them success in their future endeavors.