President Bola Tinubu has sacked the Group Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited, NNPCL, Mele Kyari.
According to a statement by Bayo Onanuga, Special Adviser to the president on information and strategy, the president also dissolved the board of the NNPCL, removing the Chairman, Chief Pius Akinyelure.
The statement issued on Wednesday observed that Tinubu invoked his powers under section 59(2) of the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) 2021 to carry out the reconstitution, citing the need for “enhanced operational efficiency, restored investor confidence, and a more commercially viable NNPC.
The statement noted that the president has now approved a new 11-man board, which has Engineer Bashir Bayo Ojulari as the group CEO and Ahmadu Musa Kida as non-executive chairman.
Adedapo Segun, who replaced Umaru Ajiya as the chief financial officer last November, has been appointed to the new board.
The board members also comprise non-executive directors representing the country’s geopolitical zones.
They are Yusuf Usman, representing the North East; Bello Rabiu, representing the North West; and Babs Omotowa, a former managing director of the Nigerian Liquified Natural Gas, who represents North Central.
President Tinubu also appointed Austin Avuru as a non-executive director from the South-South, David Ige as a Non-executive director from the South West, and Henry Obih as a non-executive director from the South East.
Permanent secretary of the Federal Ministry of Finance, Mrs Lydia Shehu Jafiya, will represent the ministry on the new board, while Aminu Ahmed will represent the Ministry of Petroleum Resources.
The statement added that all the appointments are effective from today, April 2.
