Tinubu Drops Mele Kyari, Instates Adewale Ojulari as NNPCL New CEO

In a significant reshuffling of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) board, President Bola Tinubu has removed Pius Akinyelure, the Chairman, and Mele Kyari, the Group Chief Executive Officer. This move comes as part of a broader reorganization of the company’s leadership. The President has appointed Bashir Ojulari as the new CEO, with the appointment taking effect from April 2, 2025.

Tinubu’s Special Adviser on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, confirmed the changes in a statement released early on Wednesday, titled “President Tinubu Reconstitutes NNPC Limited Board, Appoints New Chairman, Group CEO.” According to Onanuga, the President also dismissed all other board members who were appointed alongside Akinyelure and Kyari in November 2023, signaling a fresh start for the organization.

President Bola Tinubu has reconstituted the board of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL), appointing Engineer Bashir Bayo Ojulari as the new Group CEO and Ahmadu Musa Kida as the non-executive chairman. In addition, Adedapo Segun, who took over from Umaru Ajiya as the chief financial officer in November 2023, has been appointed to the board. Six other non-executive directors representing Nigeria’s geopolitical zones have also been named, including Bello Rabiu (North West), Yusuf Usman (North East), and Babs Omotowa (North Central). From the southern regions, Austin Avuru (South-South), David Ige (South West), and Henry Obih (South East) have been appointed. Mrs. Lydia Shehu Jafiya and Aminu Ahmed will represent the Ministries of Finance and Petroleum Resources, respectively.

Effective April 2, 2025, the newly appointed board members are expected to focus on enhancing the operational efficiency of NNPCL and restoring investor confidence. President Tinubu emphasized the importance of this restructuring, which is aimed at advancing gas commercialization, boosting local content, and driving economic growth in the oil sector. As part of the reorganization, the President instructed the new board to conduct a strategic portfolio review of NNPC-operated and Joint Venture Assets to ensure alignment with value maximization objectives.

This restructuring is part of broader oil sector reforms under the Tinubu administration, which has already seen significant investments. In 2024, NNPC reported $17 billion in new investments, with the goal of increasing this to $30 billion by 2027 and $60 billion by 2030. The administration is also targeting an increase in oil production to 2 million barrels per day by 2027, with a further increase to 3 million barrels per day by 2030. Additionally, the government aims to ramp up gas production to 8 billion cubic feet daily by 2027, and 10 billion cubic feet daily by 2030.