Tinubu Sacks NNPCL CEO, Kyari, Replaces With Ex-Shell MD, Ojulari

Lagos, Nigeria – President Bola Tinubu has disengaged the group chief executive officer of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPCL) Limited, Mallam Mele Kolo Kyari and replaces with Engineer Bashir Bayo Ojulari.

The decision was announced early Wednesday in a press statement signed by the special adviser to the president on information and strategy, Bayo Onanuga.

According to the statement, the president also removed the board chairman, Chief Pius Akinyelure and all other board members appointed with Akinyelure and Kyari in November 2023.

Until his appointment, Ojulari, an engineer and expert in petroleum, process and production engineering, was managing director of Shell Nigeria Exploration and Production Company (SNEPCo) from 2015 to 2021.

The statement added that, “The new 11-man board has Engineer Bashir Bayo Ojulari as the Group CEO and Ahmadu Musa Kida as non-executive chairman.”

Adedapo Segun, who replaced Umaru Isa Ajiya as the chief financial officer last November, has been appointed to the new board by President Tinubu.

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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.

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.

“Mrs Lydia Shehu Jafiya, permanent secretary of the Federal Ministry of Finance, will represent the ministry on the new board, while Aminu Said Ahmed will represent the Ministry of Petroleum Resources,” Onanuga also said.

“All the appointments according to the statement are effective today, April 2.

“President Tinubu, while 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.

“The President also handed out an immediate action plan to the new board: 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 $60 billion by 2030.

“The Tinubu administration targets raising oil production to two million barrels daily by 2027 and three million daily by 2030. Concurrently, the government wants gas production jacked to 8 billion cubic feet daily by 2027 and 10 billion cubic feet by 2030.

“Furthermore, President Tinubu expects the new board to elevate NNPC’s share of crude oil refining output to 200,000 barrels by 2027 and reach 500,000 by 2030.”