Tinubu Appoints Ojulari as New NNPCL CEO, Dissolves Board
President Bola Tinubu has removed Mele Kyari as the Group Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) and appointed Bashir Bayo Ojulari as his successor, effective April 2, 2025.
The President also dissolved the NNPCL board, including its chairman, Pius Akinyelure, and reconstituted an 11-member board. This was disclosed in a statement by Tinubu’s Special Adviser on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, in the early hours of Wednesday.
“President Tinubu removed all other board members appointed with Akinyelure and Kyari in November 2023,” the statement read.
Ojulari will lead NNPCL alongside Ahmadu Musa Kida, who has been appointed as the non-executive chairman. Also joining the board is Adedapo Segun, who was appointed Chief Financial Officer last November and has now been confirmed as a board member.
The newly appointed non-executive directors representing Nigeria’s geopolitical zones are:
- North West – Bello Rabiu
- North East – Yusuf Usman
- North Central – Babs Omotowa (former MD of NLNG)
- South South – Austin Avuru
- South West – David Ige
- South East – Henry Obih
Additionally, Mrs. Lydia Shehu Jafiya, Permanent Secretary of the Federal Ministry of Finance, will represent the ministry, while Aminu Ahmed will represent the Ministry of Petroleum Resources.
History of NNPCL Leadership
Since its inception in 1977, NNPC/NNPCL has had several Group Managing Directors (GMDs) and later Group Chief Executive Officers (GCEOs), shaping the country’s oil and gas sector.
Here is a timeline of NNPCL’s leadership:
- R. A. Marinho (July 1977 – April 1980)
- Odiligi Lolomari (April 1980 – August 1981)
- Lawrence Amu (October 1981 – November 1985)
- Aret Adams (November 1985 – April 1990)
Ojulari now joins this list as he takes the helm of Nigeria’s national oil company.