Tinubu Overhauls NNPC Limited Board, Appoints New Leadership to Drive Ambitious Oil and Gas Goals

In a decisive decision, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu approved a radical reconstruction of the limited board of directors of the national Nigerian Petroleum Company (NNPC), in force immediately, replacing the president of the chief Pius Akinyelure, the chief executive of the Mallam Mele Kolo Kyari group and all the other members of the Board of Directors appointed in November 2023.

The announcement, made by Bayo Onanuga, special advisor of the president on information and strategy, marks a significant change for the Nigeria State oil giant, who faced persistent charges of embezzlement, underperformance and financial ineffectiveness.

The redesign presents the engineer Bashir Bayo Ojulari as CEO of the group and Ahmadu Musa Kida as a non -executive president, alongside a new board of directors of 11 members responsible for overthrowing decades of criticism and achievement of ambitious sectoral objectives.

The reconstituted board of directors includes Adedapo Segun, who assumed the role of financial director in November 2024, replacing Umaru Isa Ajiya. Representing the six geopolitical zones of Nigeria, non-executive directors include Bello Rabiu (North West), Yusuf Usman (North-East) and Babs Omotowa, former director general of Nigerian liquefied natural gas (NLNG), for North Central. Southern areas, Austin Avuru (South-South), David Ige (South West) and Henry Obih (Southeast) join the board of directors. Ms. Lydia Shehu Jafiya, permanent secretary of the Federal Ministry of Finance, and Amicu said that Hmed, representing the Ministry of Oil Resources, completes the range.

Exercising your powers under article 59 (2) of the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) 2021, President Tinubu stressed that restructuring aims to improve operational efficiency, restore investors’ confidence, stimulate local content and stimulate economic growth by marketing and diversification of gas.

For years, the NNPC has been a lightning rod for criticism, with successive advice and management teams accused of mismanagement, corruption and not to offer value despite the status of Nigeria as the largest oil producer in Africa. Calls for its dissolution or a radical reform have become stronger, with energy experts and citizens pointing to a chronic sub-performance.

“For Nigeria to progress, the president will have to dismiss the entire executive management and the board of directors of NNPC and approve his undress,” said energy expert Kelvin Emmanuel last month.

He also called for the revision of the Nigerian Regulatory Authority of Middle and Downstream (NMDPRA) and the Regulatory Commission for Oil Upstream Nigerian (NUPRC), adding that “the petroleum and gas sector needs a state of emergency more than any Nigerian state”.

Emmanuel’s criticism reflects a broader feeling than the rooted ineffectiveness of the NNPC have hampered national development.

Financially, the NNPC has long had trouble justifying its existence as a for -profit entity. Despite billions of nairas allocated each year to operational costs, the company has declared coherent losses for years. In 2023, the NNPC recorded a profit of $ 1.5 billion, its first significant positive result during the years, following reforms under the PIA. However, this figure has been largely rejected as inadequate given the oil wealth of Nigeria.

“Saudi Aramco made $ 163 billion in profits for 2022. But a clown will come here and tell me that the miserable 1.5 billion dollars that the NNPC has done in the profits is commendable! Fire the board of directors and the management of the NNPC and appoint professionals with a crunchy experience,” said Emmanuel last year.

Others have noted that the benefits of the PAPC pale compared to global peers like Saudi Aramco or even regional actors such as Angola Sonangol, which have taken advantage of their resources more effectively.

The Tinubu administration has responded to these concerns with a reform program since its entry into office in 2023. Last year, the NNPC declared $ 17 billion in new investments, a milestone on which the production objectives are also ambitious: oil production is lost to reach two million barrels per day billion cubic feet per day by 2027 and 10 billion by 2030.

To reduce Nigeria’s dependence on imported oil products, Tinubu has ordered the new card to increase the production of crude oil refining from NNPC to 200,000 barrels per day by 2027 and 500,000 by 2030. An immediate action plan requires an examination of the strategic maximization of the objectives of the NNPC and the assets Maximization.

Tinubu recognized the contributions of the outgoing commission, in particular their role in the rehabilitation of the refineries of Port Harcourt and Warri, which resumed production after prolonged closures.
“Their dedicated service has laid bases of progress, and I wish them success in their future efforts,” he said.

However, the extent of the challenges to come – the aging infrastructure, the insecurity of the Niger Delta and the global energy transitions – will test the capacity of the new board of directors to be delivered. Public skepticism remains high, many Nigerians considering NNPC as a symbol of systemic failure. Whether Ojulari, Kida and their team can break with the past and achieve the high objectives of the administration will determine whether this overhaul marks a turning point or another chapter in the disturbed history of the NNPC.