On Wednesday, President Bola Tinubu appointed Engineer Bashir Ojulari as the new Group Chief Executive Officer (GCEO) of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited, marking a significant step in the restructuring of the company.
In a statement released by Bayo Onanuga, Special Adviser to the President (Information & Strategy), the President invoked Section 59, Subsection 2 of the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) of 2021. This legal provision emphasizes that the restructuring of the NNPC board is essential for enhancing operational efficiency, restoring investor confidence, boosting local content, driving economic growth, and advancing gas commercialization and diversification.
As part of the restructuring, President Tinubu removed Pius Akinyelure, the Chairman of NNPC, and Mele Kyari, the outgoing GCEO, along with all other board members appointed alongside them in November 2023.
The new 11-member board now consists of Engineer Bashir Ojulari as Group CEO and Ahmadu Kida as Non-Executive Chairman, with a broader mandate to guide NNPC towards greater growth and development.
Ojulari, who hails from Kwara State, brings a wealth of experience in the energy sector. Prior to his appointment, he was the Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer of Renaissance Africa Energy Company. Notably, his leadership at Renaissance was instrumental in a groundbreaking $2.4 billion acquisition of Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria’s (SPDC) entire equity holdings by a consortium of indigenous energy firms.
Ojulari holds a degree in Mechanical Engineering from Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, and embarked on his distinguished career in the oil and gas sector as the first Nigerian process engineer at Elf Aquitaine. He later joined Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria Ltd in 1991 as an associate production technologist, advancing through various roles in Europe, the Middle East, and Nigeria.
In 2015, Ojulari was appointed the Managing Director of Shell Nigeria Exploration and Production Company (SNEPCO). He has also held prominent positions in the Society of Petroleum Engineers (SPE) Nigerian Council, including chairmanship and membership on its board of trustees, and is a fellow of the Nigerian Society of Engineers.
Under his leadership, NNPC is expected to strengthen its role in driving Nigeria’s energy sector forward, contributing to both national development and the country’s global competitiveness.
