President Bola Ahmed Tinubu on Wednesday sacked the board of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited, NNPCL, including its Group Chief Executive Officer, GCEO, Mele Kyari, and board chairperson, Pius Akinyelure.
TheNewsGuru reports that Tinubu also approved the appointment of Engineer Bashir Bayo Ojulari as the new head of the state-owned oil firm.
The newly reconstituted 11-member board features Ahmadu Musa Kida as Non-Executive Chairman, alongside Bayo Ojulari as the Group CEO.
Adedapo Segun, who succeeded Umaru Isa Ajiya as Chief Financial Officer (CFO) last year, has been retained as a member of the new board.
The board also includes six non-executive directors representing Nigeria’s geopolitical zones:
- North West: Bello Rabiu
- North East: Yusuf Usman
- North Central: Babs Omotowa, former MD of Nigeria LNG
- South South: Austin Avuru
- South West: David Ige
- South East: Henry Obih
Who is Bayo Ojulari?
Engineer Bashir Bayo Ojulari, who hails from Kwara State, is a seasoned professional in the energy sector, who brings over three decades of industry experience to his new role. His career spans key leadership positions at Shell, where he worked for more than 24 years before venturing into private consultancy and executive roles in the oil and gas sector.
Ojulari is also graduate of Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, with a degree in Mechanical Engineering (1985–1989), Ojulari began his career at Elf Petroleum Nigeria, working as a Fields and Process Engineer from 1989 to 1991.
He later joined Shell Petroleum Development Company, SPDC, in November 1991 as an Associate Production Technologist. Over the years, he steadily climbed the corporate ladder, taking on various technical and managerial roles, both in Nigeria and internationally.
His international experience spans Europe and the Middle East, where he worked in various technical and leadership roles including strategic planner, asset manager, field developer, and production engineer.
In November 2015, Ojulari was appointed Managing Director of Shell Nigeria Exploration and Production Company, SNEPCo, a role he held until July 2021.
Following his departure from Shell, he established BAT Advisory and Energy Company Nigeria Ltd, where he served as board chairman, offering consultancy services to energy firms.
In early 2024, he took on a new challenge as Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer of Renaissance Africa Energy Company, playing a key role in its acquisition of a Shell asset in Nigeria.
Ojulari has also served as Chairman and Board Member of the Society of Petroleum Engineers (SPE Nigerian Council) and is a Fellow of the Nigerian Society of Engineers.
His appointment as GCEO of NNPCL comes at a pivotal time for Nigeria’s oil and gas sector, which has long been plagued by allegations of corruption and inefficiency.
With his extensive background in oil exploration, corporate strategy, and asset management, the new NNPCL boss is expected to drive much-needed transformation in the nation’s petroleum industry.