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NIGERIAN OIL INDUSTRY: WILL A NEW BOARD BLOCK THE CORRUPTION CESSPOOL?

CapitalTimesNews / 1 day
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5 min read

By Paul Ejime ORDINARILY, President Bola Tinubu’s reconstitution of the governing board of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited should inspire hope for positive changes in the country’s beleaguered petroleum sector, but for critics and many Nigerians, it is a wait-and-see response. An official government statement on 2nd April 2025, said the move was crucial for “enhancing operational efficiency, restoring investor confidence, boosting local content, driving economic growth, and advancing gas commercialization and diversification.” The new 11-member board has Bashir Bayo Ojulari as the NNPCL Group Chief Executive Officer (GCEO). He replaces Mele Kolo Kyari, who held the position from 2019. Kyari had earlier served as the Group General Manager, Crude Oil Marketing Division of the NNPC and Nigeria’s Representative at the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) from 2018. Ahmadu Musa Kida, the new non-executive Chairman of the NNPCL board, takes over from Chief Pius Akinyelure. All other board members appointed with Akinyelure and Kyari in November 2023 were also removed. Six board members, non-executive directors, represent Nigeria’s geopolitical zones. Mrs Lydia Shehu Jafiya, Permanent Secretary of the Federal Ministry of Finance, represents the ministry on the new board, and Aminu Said Ahmed, represents the Ministry of Petroleum Resources. President Tinubu, who, like his predecessor, former President Muhammadu Buhari (2016-2023), doubles as Petroleum Minister, charged the new board to conduct a strategic review of NNPC-operated and Joint Venture Assets to ensure alignment with value maximization objectives. As part of the Tinubu administration’s oil sector reforms to attract investment, the NNPCL last year reported US$17 billion in new investments within the sector. According to industry sources and government officials, Tinubu’s government plans to increase the investment to US$30 billion by 2027 and US$60 billion by 2030. While non-oil sector is considered a pathway to Nigeria’s sustainable economic growth, diversification remains an unending quest. Oil accounts for 80 per cent of Nigeria’s revenue and foreign exchange earnings, and data from the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC), showed that the country’s crude oil revenue surged to ₦50.88 trillion in 2024, with total crude oil production of 408,680,457 barrels throughout the year. (about N1,500=1US$). However, until recently and for decades, Nigeria imported refined petroleum products, including the Premium Motor Spirit or petrol, and endured embarrassing national shortages blamed on mismanagement and lack of transparency in the industry. Four of the country’s state-run oil refineries were dormant for several years, while millions of Naira was spent as running costs on them, including staff emoluments. Two of the four refineries only reportedly resumed production recently. Consequently, Nigeria has continued to produce crude oil below the quota allocated to it by the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), and not even the coming on stream of a few private refineries, particularly the Dangote Refinery, owned by Africa’s richest man Alhaji Aliko Dangote has ended the country’s oil industry misery. Since its inauguration in May 2023, the Tinubu administration has raised the pump price of petrol several times, adding to the hardship associated with the economic policies, which the government considers critical to stimulating economic growth and national prosperity. A six-month sale of crude oil by the NNPCL to private refineries in the local currency, Naira, another government stop-gap measure to shore up fuel supply has ended with consumers expressing anxiety about another potential bout of price rises. Like most government institutions and agencies, the NNPCL faces a trust deficit because of the opaqueness and phantom dealings in the petroleum industry, with critics claiming that the true position of the country’s oil production and general transactions is a mystery. To compound matters, the NNPCL admitted in its audited financial statement last August that it was struggling to pay off a US$6 billion debt. The new NNPCL Chairman, Kida, and GCEO Ojulari, bring to their new roles impressive career track records and vast experiences in the petroleum industry. But it remains to be seen if these are enough to bring the desired changes, including burnishing the profile of the Corporation and transforming Nigeria’s struggling petroleum industry. Some conspiracy theorists are even reading a curious coincidence into the new NNPCL leadership, pointing out that both men have separately worked with French companies TOTAL and Elf Aquitaine, and a day after their appointment, Nigeria’s President Tinubu jetted out to France on a working visit. Apart from his oil industry career, Kida was a basketballer and former President of the Nigerian Basketball Federation, while Ojulari also served in a senior position at Shell, a British affiliated oil giant. As a critical stakeholder in Nigeria’s major revenue-spinning industry, the NNPCL also provides the oil that powers the country’s political engine, including elections, and will continue to draw public attention. The Kida-led new board has its job cut out for it, either to do business differently and inspire public confidence, or join the list of previous executives that failed to meet the expectations of Nigerians who feel short-changed by the country’s failure to optimize the benefits of its God-given oil resources because of corruption and mismanagement. *Paul Ejime is a Global Affairs Analyst and Consultant on Peace & Security and Governance Communication

PRESIDENT TINUBU DISSOLVES NNPCL BOARD, APPOINTS NEW CHAIRMAN AND GROUP CEO

CapitalTimesNews / 4 days
0
2 min read

President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has dissolved the board of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL), removing its chairman, Chief Pius Akinyelure, and Group Chief Executive Officer, Mallam Mele Kolo Kyari, in a sweeping overhaul. The move, effective April 2, 2024, follows the president’s invocation of powers under Section 59(2) of the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA), 2021, to reconstitute an 11-member board aimed at enhancing operational efficiency, restoring investor confidence, and driving economic growth. Ahmadu Musa Kida, a former Deputy Managing Director of Total Exploration and Production Nigeria, has been appointed as the new Non-Executive Chairman. Engineer Bashir Bayo Ojulari, previously Executive Vice President of Renaissance Africa Energy Company, takes over as Group CEO. The board also includes six non-executive directors representing Nigeria’s geopolitical zones: Bello Rabiu (North West), Yusuf Usman (North East), Babs Omotowa (North Central), Austin Avuru (South-South), David Ige (South West), and Henry Obih (South East). Adedapo Segun, Chief Financial Officer since November 2023, retains his position on the board. Mrs. Lydia Shehu Jafiya, Permanent Secretary of the Federal Ministry of Finance, and Aminu Said Ahmed, representing the Ministry of Petroleum Resources, complete the new lineup. President Tinubu directed the board to conduct an immediate strategic review of NNPCL’s assets and joint ventures to align with “value maximization objectives.” The administration targets raising oil production to 2 million barrels per day by 2027 and 3 million by 2030, alongside increasing gas output to 8 billion cubic feet daily by 2027 and 10 billion by 2030. Refining capacity is expected to hit 200,000 barrels daily by 2027 and 500,000 by 2030. Highlighting reforms initiated since 2023, Tinubu noted that $17 billion in new investments had been secured for the sector, with ambitions to attract $30 billion by 2027 and $60 billion by 2030. He praised the outgoing board for rehabilitating the Port Harcourt and Warri refineries, which resumed production after prolonged shutdowns, and wished them well in future endeavors. Kida, an alumnus of Ahmadu Bello University and former President of the Nigerian Basketball Federation, brings decades of experience from Total and Pan Ocean-Newcross Group. Ojulari, a mechanical engineering graduate from the same institution, previously led Shell Nigeria Exploration and Production Company and played a key role in Renaissance’s $2.4 billion acquisition of Shell Petroleum Development Company assets. “This restructuring is critical to boosting local content, gas commercialization, and economic diversification,” Tinubu stated, emphasizing the need for transparency and investor-friendly policies. The new board is tasked with steering NNPCL toward meeting Nigeria’s energy demands and global market competitiveness.

SIX DEAD, FOUR INJURED...

NIGERIAN BOXER OLUWASEGUN OLANREWAJU’S...

NNPCL EMBROILED IN N514...

CHIEF EDWIN KIAGBODO CLARK’S...

PRESIDENT TINUBU VOWS SEVERE...

EMIR SANUSI SUMMONED OVER...

SIX DEAD, FOUR INJURED...

NIGERIAN BOXER OLUWASEGUN OLANREWAJU’S...

NNPCL EMBROILED IN N514...

CHIEF EDWIN KIAGBODO CLARK’S...

PRESIDENT TINUBU VOWS SEVERE...

EMIR SANUSI SUMMONED OVER...

NNPC LTD ANNOUNCES NEW SENIOR MANAGEMENT TEAM

BAYO OJULARI TAKES OVER AS GCEO OF NNPC LTD

NIGERIAN OIL INDUSTRY: WILL A NEW BOARD BLOCK THE CORRUPTION CESSPOOL?

CNPP APPLAUDS PRESIDENT TINUBU ON MELE KYARI’S SACK, DEMANDS FORENSIC AUDIT OF NNPCL

PRESIDENT TINUBU DISSOLVES NNPCL BOARD, APPOINTS NEW CHAIRMAN AND GROUP CEO

NNPC LTD READY FOR INITIAL PUBLIC OFFER

FIRE OUTBREAK HITS PORT HARCOURT REFINERY IN RIVERS STATE

DANGOTE REFINERY BUYS FIRST CARGO OF EQUATORIAL GUINEA’S CEIBA CRUDE AMID CRUDE SHORTAGE

CHIEF EDWIN KIAGBODO CLARK’S BURIAL DATE.

PRESIDENT TINUBU VOWS SEVERE PUNISHMENT FOR.

EMIR SANUSI SUMMONED OVER SALLAH CELEBRATION.

SIX DEAD, FOUR INJURED IN LAGOS-IBADAN.

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