On Wednesday, President Bola Tinubu appointed Engineer Bashir Ojulari as the Group Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited.
According to the Special Adviser to the President on Information & Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, President Bola Tinubu invoked Section 59, Subsection 2 of the Petroleum Industry Act, 2021. This provision highlights the importance of restructuring the board to improve operational efficiency, restore investor confidence, enhance local content, stimulate economic growth, and promote gas commercialization and diversification.
Tinubu dismissed the company’s Chairman, Pius Akinyelure, and the Group Chief Executive Officer, Mele Kyari.
He also dismissed all other board members who were appointed alongside Chairman Pius Akinyelure and Group Chief Executive Officer Mele Kyari in November 2023.
The newly appointed 11-man board now includes Ojulari as the Group CEO and Ahmadu Kida as the Non-Executive Chairman.
Ojulari, the new NNPC Limited Group CEO, hails from Kwara State; before his new appointment, he served as the Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer of Renaissance Africa Energy Company.
His company, Renaissance, recently led a consortium of indigenous energy firms in the landmark acquisition of the entire equity holding in the Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria (SPDC) for $2.4 billion.
Ojulari is also an alumnus of Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, where he graduated with a degree in Mechanical Engineering.
He began his distinguished career in the oil sector at Elf Aquitaine, becoming the first Nigerian process engineer. After his time at Elf, he joined Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria Ltd in 1991 as an associate production technologist.
In addition to his work in Nigeria, he gained international experience in Europe and the Middle East, holding various roles such as petroleum process and production engineer, strategic planner, field developer, and asset manager. In 2015, he was appointed the managing director of Shell Nigeria Exploration and Production Company (SNEPCO).
Throughout his career, he served as both chairman and a member of the board of trustees of the Society of Petroleum Engineers (SPE Nigerian Council) and was a fellow of the Nigerian Society of Engineers.