President Bola Tinubu has appointed Engineer Bashir Ojulari as the new Group Chief Executive Officer (GCEO) of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited.
The announcement was made on Wednesday by Bayo Onanuga, the Special Adviser to the President on Information & Strategy. Tinubu exercised his authority under Section 59, subsection 2 of the Petroleum Industry Act, 2021, emphasizing that the board’s restructuring is essential for improving operational efficiency, restoring investor confidence, boosting local content, driving economic growth, and advancing gas commercialization and diversification.
As part of the shake-up, Tinubu dismissed the company’s Chairman, Pius Akinyelure, and the former GCEO, Mele Kyari. He also removed all board members who were appointed alongside them in November 2023.
The newly constituted 11-member board now features Ojulari as the Group CEO and Ahmadu Kida as the Non-Executive Chairman.
Ojulari’s Background and Experience
Ojulari, who hails from Kwara State, previously served as the Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer of Renaissance Africa Energy Company. His firm recently led a consortium of indigenous energy companies in acquiring the entire $2.4 billion equity holding of Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria (SPDC).
An alumnus of Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, Ojulari holds a degree in Mechanical Engineering. He began his career at Elf Aquitaine as Nigeria’s first indigenous process engineer before joining Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria Ltd in 1991 as an associate production technologist.
Throughout his career, he has held key positions in Nigeria, Europe, and the Middle East, specializing in petroleum processing, production engineering, strategic planning, field development, and asset management.
In 2015, he became the Managing Director of Shell Nigeria Exploration and Production Company (SNEPCO). He has also served as chairman and board trustee of the Society of Petroleum Engineers (SPE Nigerian Council) and is a fellow of the Nigerian Society of Engineers