By Admin

In a major shake-up of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited, President Bola Tinubu has dismissed Group Chief Executive Officer (GCEO) Mallam Mele Kyari and Board Chairman Chief Pius Akinyelure, along with all board members appointed in November 2023.

This development was announced early Wednesday in a statement by presidential spokesman Bayo Onanuga. The statement revealed that a newly constituted 11-member board will now oversee the affairs of NNPC Limited, with Engineer Bashir Bayo Ojulari taking over as the Group CEO and Ahmadu Musa Kida assuming the role of Non-Executive Chairman.

Additionally, President Tinubu appointed Adedapo Segun, who replaced Umaru Isa Ajiya as the Chief Financial Officer last year, as a board member. The board also includes six non-executive directors representing Nigeria’s geopolitical zones: Bello Rabiu (North West), Yusuf Usman (North East), and Babs Omotowa, former Managing Director of Nigerian Liquefied Natural Gas (NLNG), representing North Central. From the southern regions, Austin Avuru (South-South), David Ige (South-West), and Henry Obih (South-East) were also named as non-executive directors.

Further, Mrs. Lydia Shehu Jafiya, Permanent Secretary of the Federal Ministry of Finance, and Aminu Said Ahmed from the Ministry of Petroleum Resources will represent their respective ministries on the board.

The statement emphasized that “all the appointments are effective today, April 2.” It also outlined Tinubu’s rationale for the restructuring, citing Section 59, subsection 2 of the Petroleum Industry Act, 2021. According to Onanuga, the move is aimed at “enhancing operational efficiency, restoring investor confidence, boosting local content, driving economic growth, and advancing gas commercialisation and diversification.”

Furthermore, President Tinubu has tasked the newly appointed board with conducting a “strategic portfolio review of NNPC-operated and joint venture assets to ensure alignment with value maximisation objectives.”

Under Tinubu’s leadership, the federal government has been implementing major reforms in the oil sector to attract more investment. In 2023, NNPC recorded $17 billion in new investments, with the administration now aiming to increase that figure to $30 billion by 2027 and $60 billion by 2030.

The government also has ambitious targets for oil and gas production. The goal is to raise daily crude oil output to two million barrels by 2027 and three million barrels by 2030. Likewise, gas production is expected to reach 8 billion cubic feet per day by 2027 and expand further to 10 billion cubic feet daily by 2030.

Additionally, Tinubu has charged the new board with increasing NNPC’s crude oil refining capacity. “The new board is expected to elevate NNPC’s share of crude oil refining output to 200,000 barrels by 2027 and reach 500,000 by 2030,” the statement noted.

The newly appointed board chairman, Ahmadu Musa Kida, hails from Borno State. A graduate of Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, with a degree in civil engineering, Kida also holds a postgraduate diploma in petroleum engineering from the Institut Francaise du Petrol (IFP) in Paris.

His career in the oil and gas industry began at Elf Petroleum Nigeria before moving to Total Exploration and Production as a trainee engineer in 1985. He later rose to the position of Deputy Managing Director of Deep Water Services at Total Nigeria in 2015. Last year, he became an Independent Non-Executive Director at Pan Ocean-Newcross Group.

Beyond his contributions to the oil sector, Kida is well-known in the sports community as a former basketball player and the President of the Nigerian Basketball Federation (NBBF).

Bashir Bayo Ojulari, the newly appointed NNPC Limited Group CEO, is from Kwara State. Before his appointment, he was the Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer of Renaissance Africa Energy Company. His recent efforts led a consortium of indigenous energy firms in the $2.4 billion acquisition of Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria (SPDC).

Ojulari is also a graduate of Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, with a degree in mechanical engineering. His career started at Elf Aquitaine, where he became the first Nigerian process engineer before transitioning to Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria Ltd in 1991. Over the years, he worked in various roles in Europe and the Middle East, excelling as a petroleum process and production engineer, strategic planner, field developer, and asset manager.

In 2015, Ojulari was appointed Managing Director of Shell Nigeria Exploration and Production Company (SNEPCO). He also served as chairman and a board trustee member of the Society of Petroleum Engineers (SPE Nigerian Council) and is a fellow of the Nigerian Society of Engineers.

President Tinubu expressed gratitude to the former NNPC board members for their contributions, particularly in overseeing the rehabilitation of the Port Harcourt and Warri refineries. Their efforts led to the resumption of petroleum product production after years of inactivity. He wished them success in their future endeavors.

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Gov. Douye Diri of Bayelsa State bans the planned hosting of FCT Minister Nyesom Wike anywhere in Bayelsa State.
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By Admin

Suspended Rivers State Governor, Siminalayi Fubara, has firmly denied any links to militant groups and has called for a thorough investigation into reports of pipeline explosions circulating on social media. Dismissing the claims as false and misleading, he urged security agencies to identify and hold accountable those responsible for spreading such misinformation.

Fubara described the reports as “malicious, fake, and imaginary,” stressing that affected communities have debunked them and assured that critical infrastructure remains intact and fully operational.

In an official statement issued by his Chief Press Secretary, Nelson Chukwudi, the governor strongly condemned the attempts to associate him with acts of sabotage.

“Our attention has, once again, been drawn to a flurry of malicious, fake and imaginary videos of purported explosions on oil and gas facilities in Rivers State.

“Virtually all the fake videos have been linked to alleged militant groups in the state, with the creators of such content trying very hard to connect them to supporters of Governor Siminalayi Fubara.

“Already, the communities where these incidents are alleged to have occurred have reacted, dismissing any claims of explosions on oil and gas facilities in their domains, and reassuring that all critical government assets within their areas are safe, secure and efficiently functioning.”

Fubara reaffirmed his commitment to maintaining peace and security in Rivers State, emphasizing that he has never been involved with any militant groups and has no reason to support activities that could endanger the state’s stability or threaten the economy.

“For the avoidance of doubt, Governor Siminalayi Fubara has no link to any militant group, does not contemplate any such association, and has no reason to encourage any criminal group or elements, anywhere in the State or Niger Delta, to undertake any action inimical to the peace of the people or safety and security of oil and gas facilities, and by extension, the economy of the country.”

Additionally, he warned against the misuse of social media to spread falsehoods, calling on security agencies to take decisive action against those deliberately creating panic and unrest.

“It is also important to warn bloggers and social media hirelings to stop, forthwith, their campaign to create an atmosphere of tension, chaos and anarchy in the state.

“Their fake reports and posts in the last couple of days have triggered enough wrong decisions that would not help the state move forward.

“Security agencies should take note of these fake videos designed to misinform the people, and further paint the state in bad light, and take every necessary step to contain them, and bring those behind them to book.”

Governor Siminalayi Fubara, his deputy, and all elected members of the Rivers State House of Assembly were suspended on March 18, 2022, by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu following rising political tensions in the state, with reports of pipeline vandalization playing a key role in the decision. However, Fubara insists these claims were fabricated and part of a larger attempt to mislead the public.

As he demands a full-scale investigation, Fubara remains resolute in his stance that truth and justice must prevail while urging authorities to take firm action against those peddling misinformation.