President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, Wednesday, announced the reconstitution of the 11-man Board of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) 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.
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