President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has inaugurated the newly constituted 11-member board of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL), appointed Engr. Bashir Bayo Ojulari as the Group Chief Executive Officer and Mr. Ahmadu Musa Kida as the non-Executive Chairman.
The inauguration ceremony took place on Thursday at the State House Banquet Hall, Abuja, shortly before the President proceeded to attend the APC National Summit. Present at the event were key members of the Federal Executive Council, including the Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Mr. Wale Edun; Minister of Information and National Orientation, Alhaji Mohammed Idris; and Minister of State for Petroleum Resources (Oil), Senator Heineken Lokpobiri.
The board members were drawn from Nigeria’s six geopolitical zones: Adedapo Segun (North West), Bello Rabiu (North East), Babs Omotowa (North Central), Austin Avuru (South South), David Ige (South West), and Henry Obih (South East). Also on the board are Lydia Shehu Jafiya representing the Federal Ministry of Finance, and Aminu Said Ahmed representing the Ministry of Petroleum Resources.
President Tinubu tasked the newly inaugurated board with undertaking a comprehensive review of NNPC’s portfolio, aligning its assets with the administration’s strategic goal of value maximisation across the energy sector.
As part of his economic reform agenda, President Tinubu reiterated his administration’s commitment to increasing Nigeria’s oil production to 2 million barrels per day by 2027 and reaching 3 million barrels per day by 2030.
Similarly, daily gas output is expected to hit 10 billion cubic feet by 2030. The President also underscored the need to raise the nation’s domestic crude oil refining capacity to 500,000 barrels per day within the same period.
Engr. Ojulari, who hails from Kwara State, brings a wealth of experience to the role, having led major energy transactions, including the landmark $2.4 billion acquisition of Shell’s SPDC equity. His appointment is seen as a move to strengthen corporate governance and drive efficiency in the national oil company.
