President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has sacked Mallam Mele Kyari as the Group Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited.
The President also fired Chief Pius Akinyelure as the board chairman and reconstituted a new board for the nation’s oil company.
According to a statement issued early Wednesday by Bayo Onanuga, Special Adviser to the President on Information & Strategy, all other board members appointed alongside them in November 2023 have also been dismissed.
Tinubu thanked the outgoing board members for their service, particularly their contributions to rehabilitating the Port Harcourt and Warri refineries, which enabled the resumption of petroleum production.
The statement partly reads, “President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has approved a sweeping reconstitution of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited board, removing the chairman, Chief Pius Akinyelure and the group chief executive officer, Mallam Mele Kolo Kyari.
“President Tinubu removed all other board members appointed with Akinyelure and Kyari in November 2023.”
In the new 11-member board, Engineer Bashir Bayo Ojulari has been named as the Group CEO, while Ahmadu Musa Kida takes over as the non-executive chairman. Adedapo Segun, who replaced Umaru Isa Ajiya as the company’s chief financial officer last year, has also been appointed to the new board.
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Representing the country’s six geopolitical zones as non-executive directors are Bello Rabiu (North West), Yusuf Usman (North East), and Babs Omotowa (North Central). Others include Austin Avuru (South-South), David Ige (South West), and Henry Obih (South East). Additionally, Mrs Lydia Shehu Jafiya from the Federal Ministry of Finance and Aminu Said Ahmed from the Ministry of Petroleum Resources have been appointed to represent their respective ministries.
According to the statement, the appointments take effect immediately, with President Tinubu citing Section 59, subsection 2 of the Petroleum Industry Act, 2021, as the basis for the restructuring.
The statement noted that the move is aimed at improving operational efficiency, restoring investor confidence, increasing local content, driving economic growth, and advancing gas commercialisation and diversification.
The new board has been tasked with conducting a strategic review of NNPC’s portfolio, particularly its operated and joint venture assets, to align them with value maximisation goals.
As part of its targets, the administration is pushing to increase oil production to two million barrels per day by 2027 and three million by 2030, while gas output is expected to reach eight billion cubic feet daily by 2027 and 10 billion by 2030. The new board is also expected to expand NNPC’s share of crude oil refining, aiming for 200,000 barrels per day by 2027 and 500,000 by 2030.
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