Things to Know About the Newly Appointed NNPCL Boss, Ojulari.
From Our Correspondent
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).
In a statement released in the early hours of Wednesday, the Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, announced this development, titled “President Tinubu Reconstitutes NNPC Limited Board, Appoints New Chairman and Group CEO.”
Onanuga stated that Tinubu, invoking the powers granted under Section 59, subsection 2 of the Petroleum Industry Act, 2021, has also dismissed Mele Kyari from his role as the NNPCL GMD.
Furthermore, the President dissolved the company’s board, including its chairman, Pius Akinyelure, and reconstituted it with an 11-member team.
Ojulari’s appointment will take effect on April 2, 2025. Below is a profile of the new NNPCL boss:
Bashir Ojulari, an indigene of Kwara State, is a seasoned Nigerian engineer with expertise in petroleum, process, and production engineering. Prior to his new appointment, he served as Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer of Renaissance Africa Energy Company. Under his leadership, the firm recently facilitated a landmark acquisition of the entire equity holding in the Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria for $2.4 billion.
Ojulari is an alumnus of Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, where he graduated with a degree in Mechanical Engineering. He began his career as the first Nigerian process engineer at Elf Aquitaine before joining Shell Petroleum Development Company in 1991 as an associate production technologist.
A fellow of the Nigerian Society of Engineers, Ojulari served on the Board of Trustees of the Society of Petroleum Engineers (SPE Nigeria Council) from 1998 to 1999. Throughout his career, he has held managerial roles in Europe and the Middle East, specializing in petroleum engineering, process engineering, production engineering, and health and safety.
In November 2015, Ojulari was appointed Managing Director of SNEPCo and General Manager of Deepwater.
He also served on the board of the Shell Petroleum Development Company, overseeing onshore and offshore petroleum engineering, technical integration of development, well engineering, and project engineering.
In addition to his experience in Nigeria, Ojulari has worked in Europe and the Middle East in various capacities, including petroleum process and production engineer, strategic planner, field developer, and asset manager.
