President Bola Tinubu has appointed Bashir Ojulari as the new Group Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian National Petroleum.Company Limited (NNPCL).
The appointment was confirmed by the Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, in a statement released early Wednesday.
In his announcement, Onanuga revealed that Tinubu, exercising his powers under Section 59, subsection 2 of the Petroleum Industry Act, 2021, also removed Mele Kyari from his position as the NNPCL GMD.
Along with Kyari’s dismissal, the President dissolved the company’s board, including Chairman Pius Akinyelure, and reconstituted a new 11-member board.
Ojulari’s appointment will take effect from April 2, 2025.
Here’s a closer look at the new NNPCL boss.
Ojulari, a native of Kwara State, is an experienced Nigerian engineer with expertise in petroleum, process, and production engineering.
Prior to his new role, he served as the Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer of Renaissance Africa Energy Company, which led a consortium of indigenous energy firms in the $2.4 billion acquisition of Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria’s entire equity stake.
A graduate of Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, Ojulari holds a degree in Mechanical Engineering.
He began his professional journey as the first Nigerian process engineer at Elf Aquitaine, before joining Shell Petroleum Development Company in 1991 as an associate production technologist.
Throughout his career, Ojulari has held several leadership positions, particularly in petroleum engineering, process engineering, production engineering, and health and safety, across Europe and the Middle East.
In 2015, he was appointed Managing Director of SNEPCo and General Manager for Deepwater.
Ojulari is a fellow of the Nigerian Society of Engineers and was a member of the Board of Trustees for the Society of Petroleum Engineers (SPE Nigeria Council) from 1998 to 1999.
He has also served on the board of Shell Petroleum Development Company, overseeing various technical aspects of onshore and offshore petroleum engineering, as well as well engineering and project integration.
With extensive experience across multiple regions, Ojulari’s career reflects a strong track record in the oil and gas industry, positioning him to lead NNPCL at a critical time for Nigeria’s energy sector.
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