President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has sacked the entire board of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited, including its Group Chief Executive Officer, Mele Kyari, and board chairman, Pius Akinyelure.
The shocking announcement was made in the early hours of Wednesday by presidential spokesperson Bayo Onanuga in a statement posted on X (formerly Twitter). The decision marks a major shift in the leadership of Nigeria’s most strategic sector, signaling a new direction for the country’s oil and gas industry.
End of an Era: Tinubu Cleans House at NNPC
Mele Kyari, who was first appointed as NNPC chief by former President Muhammadu Buhari and later reappointed by Tinubu in 2023, now finds himself ousted as part of the sweeping overhaul. Alongside him, all other board members appointed in November 2023 have been removed with immediate effect.
To replace the outgoing executives, President Tinubu has appointed a new 11-man board, bringing in fresh leadership to steer the nation’s oil industry in a new direction. Engineer Bashir Bayo Ojulari has been named the new Group CEO, while Ahmadu Musa Kida takes over as the non-executive chairman.
Meet the New Power Players in Nigeria’s Oil Industry
The reconstituted board, selected to represent the nation’s geopolitical zones, includes key industry figures and technocrats. Adedapo Segun, who took over as chief financial officer last November, has been confirmed as a board member. Other notable appointments include:
Bello Rabiu (North West)
Yusuf Usman (North East)
Babs Omotowa, former MD of NLNG (North Central)
Austin Avuru (South-South)
David Ige (South West)
Henry Obih (South East)
Lydia Shehu Jafiya, representing the Federal Ministry of Finance
Aminu Said Ahmed, representing the Ministry of Petroleum Resources
This shake-up is driven by President Tinubu’s vision to enhance operational efficiency, restore investor confidence, boost local content, drive economic growth, and advance gas commercialisation. Invoking Section 59, subsection 2 of the Petroleum Industry Act, 2021, Tinubu has tasked the new board with an immediate action plan: conducting a strategic portfolio review of NNPC-operated and joint venture assets to align with value maximisation objectives.
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With these changes taking effect from today, April 2, all eyes are on the new leadership to revamp Nigeria’s oil sector and deliver on the president’s ambitious energy reforms. The coming weeks will reveal the true impact of this reshuffle.
