The Association of Energy Correspondents of Nigeria (NAEC), has said that the tenure of the new Group Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian National Company Limited (NNPC Ltd) would bring positive impacts to Nigeria’s oil and gas sector.
President Bola Tinubu had, on Wednesday, April 2, made sweeping reconstitution of the NNPC Ltd board, removing the Chairman, Chief Pius Akinyelure and the Group Chief Executive Officer, GCEO, Mele Kyari. He also removed all other board members appointed with Akinyelure and Kyari in November 2023 and replaced them wi new 11-man board led by Engineer Bashir Bayo Ojulari as the GCEO and Ahmadu Musa Kida as non-executive chairman.
Chairman, NAEC, Ugo Amadi, in a statement congratulated Ojulari on his appointment as the new GCEO of NNPC Ltd.
Amadi while welcoming Ojulari’s appointment, maintained that the development would bring positive impact to the oil and gas sector in Nigeria given the new GCEO’s wealth of experience in the industry.
He said: “As Editors and correspondents reporting the sector, we look forward to having a robust working relationship with you and other members of your team with the hope of building a solid base for the development of the sector in the overall good of Nigeria.
“As you build on the legacies of your predecessor, we once again congratulate you on this latest appointment, and wish you the very best as you settle down to your new task.”
Special Adviser to the President (Information & Strategy), Bayo Onanuga, had in a statement titled: President Tinubu reconstitutes NNPC Ltd Board, Appoints New Chairman, GCEO, announced the reconstitution of the NNPC Ltd board.
Onanuga said: “The new 11-man board has Engineer Bashir Bayo Ojulari as the Group CEO and Ahmadu Musa Kida as non-executive chairman.
“Adedapo Segun, who replaced Umaru Isa Ajiya as the Chief Financial Officer last November, has been appointed to the new board by President Tinubu.
“Six board members, non-executive directors, represent the country’s geopolitical zones. They are Bello Rabiu, North West, Yusuf Usman, North East, and Babs Omotowa, a former managing director of the Nigerian Liquified Natural Gas( NLNG), who represents North Central.
“President Tinubu appointed Austin Avuru as a non-executive director from the South-South, David Ige as a Non-executive director from the South West, and Henry Obih as a non-executive director from the South East.
“Mrs Lydia Shehu Jafiya, permanent secretary of the Federal Ministry of Finance, will represent the ministry on the new board, while Aminu Said Ahmed will represent the Ministry of Petroleum Resources. All the appointments are effective today, April 2.”
He added: “President Tinubu, invoking the powers granted under Section 59, subsection 2 of the Petroleum Industry Act, 2021, emphasised that the board’s restructuring is crucial for enhancing operational efficiency, restoring investor confidence, boosting local content, driving economic growth, and advancing gas commercialisation and diversification.
“President Tinubu also handed out an immediate action plan to the new board: to conduct a strategic portfolio review of NNPC-operated and Joint Venture Assets to ensure alignment with value maximisation objectives.
“Since 2023, the Tinubu administration has implemented oil sector reforms to attract investment. Last year, NNPC reported $17 billion in new investments within the sector. The administration now envisions increasing the investment to $30 billion by 2027 and $60 billion by 2030.
“The Tinubu administration targets raising oil production to two million barrels daily by 2027 and three million daily by 2030. Concurrently, the government wants gas production jacked to 8 billion cubic feet daily by 2027 and 10 billion cubic feet by 2030.
“Furthermore, President Tinubu expects the new board to elevate NNPC’s share of crude oil refining output to 200,000 barrels by 2027 and reach 500,000 by 2030.”
