Why Tinubu sacked Kyari, NNPCL board – Officials

 President Bola Tinubu’s decision to sack Mele Kyari and other board members of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited stems from mounting concern over performance and a failure to meet key production targets, Presidency officials have disclosed.

In an abrupt move on Wednesday, Tinubu removed Kyari, who had been at the helm of the national oil company since 2019, as part of a broader overhaul, which the Presidency said was aimed at boosting Nigeria’s crude and gas output.

“President Tinubu removed all other board members appointed with Pius Akinyelure and Kyari in November 2023,” Tinubu’s Special Adviser on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, said in a statement in the early hours of Wednesday.

Consequently, he appointed Bashir Ojulari as the new Group CEO, effective from April 2, 2025.

“The new 11-man board has Bayo Ojulari as the Group CEO and Musa Ahmadu-Kida as non-executive chairman,” the statement read.

Multiple Presidency officials familiar with the developments said the shake-up was a performance-based reshuffle, arguing that those previously in charge “were going in circles” and some of them had “become part of the problem, rather than the solution.”

One official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorised to speak on the matter officially, told our correspondent, “The President did this because of their performance because we needed to do things differently. The former people were taking us in circles, and then some of them became part of the problem.

“There needs to be a new direction. You need new people to bring new energy into the system.

“Look at them. Every one of them is capable. They are core industry professionals, real industry experts who know the industry inside and out. They are not politicians. This is the first time we have an entire cast of technocrats.”

Another official familiar with the development said the President believed that new blood was essential to jump-start production growth.

The official explained, “It is not about (Kyari’s) age. The NNPCL is a limited liability company and is not governed by civil service rules. So, it’s not about his age. There is always a need to get new brains that can deliver in new directions. The President has his mandate, which is clearly stated in the statement. He gave them his performance metrics, such as the amount of crude we produce. He asked them to review all blocks because we want to know which ones are producing and which are not.

“We have to optimise those that are not producing. He wants them to review all our assets within a certain period and give us good production. By 2030, they must be producing 3,000,000 barrels per day, and between now and 2027, we must stabilise at 2,000,000 per day.  Then, gas, we must produce 10 billion cubic meters between now and 2030. These are performance metrics, and that is how it should be done.

“But the former system was not giving us that. They have been around the same spot for years. Our OPEC quota has not improved much since 1973. We have not been able to meet them. That is why reforms are important.”

Also appointed to the new 11-man board is Adedapo Segun, who replaced Umaru Isa Ajiya as the chief financial officer last November.

Six board members and non-executive directors represent the country’s geopolitical zones. They are: Bello Rabiu (North West); Yusuf Usman (North East); a former managing director of the NLNG, Babs Omotowa (North Central); Austin Avuru (South-South); David Ige (South West), and Henry Obih (South East).

Onanuga said Mrs Lydia Jafiya, Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Finance, will represent the ministry on the new board, while Aminu Said Ahmed represents the Ministry of Petroleum Resources.

“All the appointments are effective today, April 2,” he announced.

Tinubu handed out an immediate action plan to the new board, asking them to conduct a strategic portfolio review of NNPCL-operated and Joint Venture Assets to ensure alignment with value maximisation objectives.

While the NNPCL reported $17bn in new investments within the sector last year, Onanuga said the administration now envisions increasing the investment to $30bn by 2027 and $60bn by 2030.

“Furthermore, President Tinubu expects the new board to elevate NNPC’s share of crude oil refining output to 200,000 barrels by 2027 and reach 500,000 by 2030.

The new board chairman, Musa Ahmadu-Kida, is from Borno State. He started his career in the oil industry at Elf Petroleum Nigeria and later joined Total Exploration and Production as a trainee engineer in 1985.

Musa became Total Nigeria’s Deputy Managing Director of Deep Water Services in 2015. Last year, he became an Independent Non-Executive Director at Pan Ocean-Newcross Group.

Ojulari, the new NNPC Limited Group CEO, hails from Kwara State. Until his new appointment, he was Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer of Renaissance Africa Energy Company. His 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, worth $2.4bn.

Tinubu thanked the old board members for their dedicated service to NNPC Limited, particularly their efforts in rehabilitating the old Port Harcourt and Warri refineries, which enabled them to resume petroleum product production after prolonged shutdowns.

Nigeria, once Africa’s leading oil producer, has struggled for years to fulfil its production quota stipulated by the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries. While OPEC figures have often placed the country’s desired output above two million barrels per day, the NNPCL has repeatedly fallen short – citing pipeline vandalism, underinvestment, and ageing infrastructure.

Pundits say that under Kyari, some reforms were introduced, but overall production remained below target.