President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has announced a major overhaul of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited’s leadership, removing Chief Pius Akinyelure as chairman and Mallam Mele Kyari as the Group Chief Executive Officer.
The president also dismissed all other board members appointed alongside them in November 2023.
In their place, Tinubu has approved a new 11-member board led by Engineer Bayo Bashir Ojulari as the new Group CEO and Ahmadu Musa Kida as Non-Executive Chairman. Adedapo Segun, who was named CFO in November, also joins the restructured board.
The new board features representatives from Nigeria’s six geopolitical zones: 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). Additionally, Lydia Shehu Jafiya from the Federal Ministry of Finance and Aminu Said Ahmed from the Ministry of Petroleum Resources will serve as institutional representatives.
The appointments, which take immediate effect from April 2, 2025, were made under Section 59(2) of the Petroleum Industry Act, 2021. Tinubu said the restructuring is designed to improve efficiency, attract investment, promote local content, and support gas development and economic diversification.
He also directed the new board to conduct a strategic review of the company’s portfolio and joint venture assets, aligning them with value creation goals. The administration has already recorded $17 billion in oil sector investments and aims to reach $30 billion by 2027 and $60 billion by 2030.
Ahmadu Musa Kida, the new chairman, is a civil engineering graduate from Ahmadu Bello University and holds a postgraduate diploma in Petroleum Engineering from the Institut Français du Pétrole, Paris. His career includes key roles at Elf Petroleum, Total Nigeria, and Pan Ocean-Newcross Group. Beyond the oil sector, he served as president of the Nigerian Basketball Federation.
Ojulari, who takes over as Group CEO, is from Kwara State and holds a mechanical engineering degree from Ahmadu Bello University. His oil and gas career began at Elf Aquitaine and expanded across Shell Petroleum in Nigeria, Europe, and the Middle East. He was once Managing Director of Shell Nigeria Exploration and Production Company (SNEPCO) and recently led the acquisition of Shell’s stake in SPDC through Renaissance Africa Energy Company.
