President Bola Tinubu has appointed Mr. Bayo Ojulari as the new Group Chief Executive Officer, GCEO, of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited and dissolved its board.

Bayo Ojulari replaced Mele Kyari who was appointed by former president Muhammadu Buhari.

According to a statement by Bayo Onanuga, Senior Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, the appointment takes effect from Tuesday, April 2, 2025.

Ojulari, the new GCEO, is an indigene of Kwara state. He studied at Ahmadu Bello University, earning a degree in mechanical engineering.

He started his career at Elf Aquitaine before joining Shell Petroleum Development Company in 1991 as an associate production technologist.

His expertise spans petroleum process engineering, strategic planning, and field development, having worked across Europe and the Middle East.

In 2015, he was appointed managing director of Shell Nigeria Exploration and Production Company (SNEPCO).

Until his latest appointment, he was executive vice-president and chief operating officer at Renaissance Africa Energy Company, leading a consortium that recently acquired Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria (SPDC) for $2.4 billion.

In a major shakeup if the nation’s oil and gas sector, President Bola Tinubu has removed Mele Kyari as the group chief executive officer (CEO) of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited and dissolved its board.

The decision, effective April 2, 2025, was announced in a statement signed by Bayo Onanuga, special adviser to the president on information and strategy, early Wednesday.

Citing the need for “enhanced operational efficiency, restored investor confidence, and a more commercially viable NNPC”, Tinubu invoked his powers under section 59(2) of the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) 2021 to carry out the sweeping reconstitution.

As part of the overhaul, Bayo Ojulari takes over from Kyari as the new group CEO, while Ahmadu Musa Kida has been appointed as NNPC’s new non-executive chairman, replacing Pius Akinyelure. Also, Adedapo Segun has been confirmed as the company’s chief financial officer (CFO).

In line with the PIA, the president also appointed six non-executive directors from each geopolitical zone.

They include Bello Rabiu representing the north-west, Yusuf Usman from the north-east, and Babs Omotowa, a former managing director of the Nigerian Liquefied Natural Gas (NLNG), for the north-central.

Others are Austin Avuru for the south-south, David Ige for the south-west, and Henry Obih for the south-east.

Meanwhile, Lydia Shehu Jafiya, the permanent secretary of the federal ministry of finance, and Aminu Said Ahmed of the ministry of petroleum resources will represent their respective ministries on the new board.

“This restructuring is aimed at repositioning NNPC Limited for greater productivity and efficiency in line with global best practices. We are taking bold steps to transform the company into a more commercially driven and transparent entity,” the statement reads.

The changes take effect immediately, and the new board has been handed a strategic action plan, which includes a “review of NNPC-operated and Joint Venture Assets to ensure alignment with value maximisation objectives”.

Tinubu, who has prioritised investment-driven reforms in the oil sector, highlighted that since 2023, his administration has attracted $17 billion in new investments and is now targeting $30 billion by 2027and $60 billion by 2030.

The government also aims to raise crude oil production to two million barrels daily by 2027 and three million by 2030, alongside a gas production goal of 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,” the statement added.

The administration has prioritised domestic refining capacity to reduce reliance on fuel imports and strengthen Nigeria’s energy security.

The Nigeria Customs Service has said the alleged tenure extension of its Comptroller General, Adewale Adeniyi, is false.

The National Public Relations Officer of the service, Abdullahi Maiwada in a statement on Tuesday, said that the news was inaccurate and misleading.

He explained that the appointments and tenure extensions of the CGC are made solely at the discretion of the President, in line with the provisions of the NCS Act 2023 and other relevant regulations governing public service appointments.

“The attention of the NCS has been drawn to a fake release allegedly from the State House regarding an extension of the tenure of the CGC, Adewale Adeniyi. The NCS wishes to categorically state that this information is inaccurate and misleading,” Maiwada said.

He reiterated that at the moment, no such directive has been communicated to the NCS by the appropriate authorities and maintained that the leadership of the service remains focused on fulfilling its statutory mandate of trade facilitation, revenue generation, and border security.