President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, Wednesday, announced the reconstitution of the 11-man Board of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company(NNPC) Limited board, with Engineer Bashir Bayo Ojulari named as the Group Chief Executive Officer (GCEO), and Ahmadu Musa Kida, non-executive chairman.
The two are replacing Mallam Mele Kolo Kyari, and Chief Pius Akinyelure both of whom were GCEO and board chairman respectively.
The presidential spokesman, Mr. Bayo Onanuga, announced this in a statement issued in Abuja.
According to the statement, Adedapo Segun, who replaced Umaru Isa Ajiya as the chief financial officer last November, was also appointed as part of the new board by the president.
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 Liquefied Natural Gas (NLNG), representing the North Central zone.
Also, the statement named Austin Avuru, David Ige and Henry Obih as non-executive directors from the South-South, South-West, and South-East respectively.
Similarly, the permanent secretary of the Federal Ministry of Finance, Mrs Lydia Shehu Jafiya, will represent the ministry on the new board, while Aminu Said Ahmed will represent the Ministry of Petroleum Resources.
“All the appointments are effective today, April 2. President Tinubu, 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.
“President Tinubu 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,” the statement added.
…Board chair
“The new board chairman, Ahmadu Musa Kida, is from Borno State. He is an alumnus of Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, where he received a degree in civil engineering in 1984. He also obtained a postgraduate diploma in petroleum engineering from the Institut Francaise du Petrol (IFP) in Paris.
“He started his career in the oil industry at Elf Petroleum Nigeria and later joined Total Exploration and Production as a trainee engineer in 1985.
“Musa became Total Nigeria’s Deputy Managing Director of Deep Water Services in 2015. Last year, he became an Independent Non-Executive Director at Pan Ocean-Newcross Group.
“Apart from his oil industry career, Ahmadu Musa Kida is a former basketballer and the president of the Nigerian Basketball Federation (NBBF) board.
“Ojulari, the new NNPC Limited Group CEO, hails from Kwara State. Until his new appointment, he was Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer of Renaissance Africa Energy Company. His renaissance recently led a consortium of indigenous energy firms in the landmark acquisition of the entire equity holding in the Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria (SPDC), worth $2.4 billion.
“Like Kida, Ojulari is also an alumnus of Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria. He graduated with a degree in mechanical engineering. He worked for Elf Aquitaine as the first Nigerian process engineer to begin a stellar career in the oil sector. From Elf, he joined Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria Ltd in 1991 as an associate production technologist.
“Apart from working in Nigeria, he worked in Europe and the Middle East in different capacities as a petroleum process and production engineer, strategic planner, field developer, and asset manager. In 2015, he became the managing director of Shell Nigeria Exploration and Production Company (SNEPCO).
“During his career, he was chairman and a member of the board of trustees of the Society of Petroleum Engineers (SPE Nigerian Council) and a fellow of the Nigerian Society of Engineers.
“President Tinubu thanked the old board members for their dedicated service to NNPC Limited, particularly their efforts in rehabilitating the old Port Harcourt and Warri refineries, which enabled them to resume petroleum product production after prolonged shutdowns. He wished them well in their future endeavours,” Onanuga stated.
…Tomplo lauds leadership change
Commending President Tinubu on the leadership change, Chairman of Tantita Security Services Nigeria Limited (TSSNL), High Chief (Dr.) Government Oweizide Ekpemupolo (a.k.a Tompolo), described “this appointment as a significant step forward for NNPCL and the entire Nigerian oil and gas sector.”
In a statement ,Wednesday, Tompolo said: “His thoughtful selection of highly skilled professionals to guide NNPCL at this critical juncture demonstrates his unwavering commitment to excellence. This decision further emphasizes his administration’s dedication to ensuring that only capable leaders are entrusted with advancing Nigeria’s oil and gas industry to its full potential.
“The new Management and Board face both significant challenges and great opportunities. However, we are confident in their ability to further the restructuring of NNPCL. Under their guidance, we believe the President’s ambitious goal of rapidly expanding local refining capacity and increasing Nigeria’s crude oil production to 2 million barrels per day will not only be achieved but surpassed.”
“TSSNL remains committed to supporting NNPCL in securing and enhancing Nigeria’s oil production. With our extensive expertise in protecting oil assets and our strong ties within the Niger Delta, we are a trusted partner in ensuring that the country’s resources are safeguarded and utilized efficiently for the benefit of all stakeholders. We take this opportunity to reaffirm our unwavering support to the new leadership in fulfilling their mandate,” the statement added.
…Analyst on sustainability of prudence
In a reaction, a petroleum industry analyst, Ifeanyi Onubu, urged the new leadership to sustain Kyari’s Transparency, Accountability and Performance (TAPE) agenda.
“As evident, within his first year in the saddle, NNPCL was able to reduce losses from N803bn in 2018 to N1.7bn in 2019. In 2020, the company declared a net profit of N287bn, an epochal achievement since its inception in 1977.
“While companies all over the globe struggled with recessionary forces and weak economic outlook in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic, in 2021, the company posted a profit of N674bn, an increase of N387bn or 134.8 per cent when compared to the N287bn recorded in 2020. As a result of the efficient management of the affairs of the company under the leadership of Kyari, the Audited Financial Statement revealed an increase of 2.6 per cent of total assets from N15.86tn in 2020 to N16.27tn in 2021; total liabilities also decreased by 8.3 per cent from N14.68tn to N13.46tn in 2021.
“Given Kyari’s prudent and shrewd management trajectory, the shareholders’ fund position also followed an upward swing as it rose to N2.81tn in 2021 as against N1.15tn in 2020. In 2022, the company’s profit grew to N2.548tn, followed by another upward swing of N3.297tn in 2023. Interestingly, as of August 2024, NNPCL’s total assets were N246.8tn, more than Nigeria’s nominal GDP,” he said.
