Tinubu sacks NNPCL boss Kyari, Chairman Akinyelure, appoints new leadership
President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has reconstituted the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited board, removing Chairman Pius Akinyelure, Group Chief Executive Officer (GCEO) Mele Kyari, and other board members appointed in November 2023. The new 11-member board features Engineer Bashir Bayo Ojulari as the GCEO and Ahmadu Musa Kida as the non-executive chairman.
The newly appointed board includes six non-executive directors representing Nigeria’s 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). Mrs. Lydia Shehu Jafiya will represent the Federal Ministry of Finance, while Aminu Said Ahmed will represent the Ministry of Petroleum Resources.
President Tinubu, invoking Section 59, subsection 2 of the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) 2021, stated that the restructuring aims to enhance operational efficiency, restore investor confidence, boost local content, and expand gas commercialization and diversification. The new board is tasked with conducting a strategic review of NNPC-operated and joint venture assets to maximize value.
The Tinubu administration has driven oil sector reforms since 2023, attracting $17 billion in investments, with a target of $30 billion by 2027 and $60 billion by 2030. It also aims to increase crude oil production to two million barrels per day by 2027 and three million by 2030, while gas production is set to rise to 10 billion cubic feet daily by 2030.
Ahmadu Musa Kida, the new board chairman from Borno State, holds a civil engineering degree from Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, and a postgraduate diploma from Institut Français du Pétrole (IFP), Paris. He has held key roles at Total Nigeria and was most recently an Independent Non-Executive Director at Pan Ocean-Newcross Group.
Group CEO Bashir Bayo Ojulari, from Kwara State, was previously the Executive Vice President at Renaissance Africa Energy, leading a $2.4 billion acquisition of Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria (SPDC). A mechanical engineering graduate from Ahmadu Bello University, he has worked in various roles at Elf Petroleum and Shell, including as Managing Director of Shell Nigeria Exploration and Production Company (SNEPCO).
Tinubu expects the new board to increase NNPC’s refining output to 200,000 barrels per day by 2027 and 500,000 by 2030. The reforms align with the government’s broader economic growth strategy to strengthen the energy sector and attract global investment.
The president thanked the outgoing board members for their service, particularly their role in rehabilitating the Port Harcourt and Warri refineries, which recently resumed petroleum production. The appointments take immediate effect from April 2, 2025.
