President Bola Tinubu has appointed Engineer Bashir Bayo Ojulari as the new group chief executive officer (CEO) of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited, replacing Mallam Mele Kolo Kyari.

On Wednesday, the president announced a significant restructuring of the NNPC board, removing both the chairman, Chief Pius Akinyelure, and CEO, Kyari.

The newly reconstituted 11-member board will be led by Engineer Bashir Bayo Ojulari as Group CEO, with Ahmadu Musa Kida serving as non-executive chairman.

These appointments take effect today, April 2.

About Bayo Ojulari – NNPCL Group CEO

Engineer Bashir Bayo Ojulari, the new Group CEO of NNPC Limited, hails from Kwara State.

Prior to his appointment, he served as Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer at Renaissance Africa Energy Company, where he played a key role in a landmark acquisition worth $2.4 billion, acquiring the entire equity stake in Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria (SPDC) through a consortium of indigenous energy firms.

Ojulari is an alumnus of Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, where he earned a degree in Mechanical Engineering.

He began his career as the first Nigerian process engineer at Elf Aquitaine, marking the start of his distinguished journey in the oil and gas sector. In 1991, he joined Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria Ltd as an associate production technologist.

With extensive international experience, Ojulari worked in Europe and the Middle East in various roles, including petroleum process and production engineer, strategic planner, field developer, and asset manager.

In 2015, he became the managing director of Shell Nigeria Exploration and Production Company (SNEPCO).

He has also served as chairman and a member of the board of trustees of the Society of Petroleum Engineers (SPE Nigerian Council) and is a fellow of the Nigerian Society of Engineers.