THE NIGERIA Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (NEITI) has urged Mr Bayo Ojulari, the new Group Chief Executive Officer (GCEO) of the Nigeria National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC Ltd.), to strengthen reforms, transparency and accountability.
NEITI urged the new leadership to prioritise timely publication of the company’s financial statements, full disclosure of production data, operational costs, and revenue remittances to help rebuild public trust and enhance Nigeria’s global reputation
The Executive Secretary of NEITI, Dr Orji Ogbonnaya Orji made the call on Wednesday, while congratulating Ojulari on his appointment.
The President had on Wednesday reconstituted the board of the NNPC Ltd., removing the Chairman, Chief Pius Akinyelure and the Group GCEO, Malam Mele Kyari.
Tinubu removed all the board members appointed with Akinyelure and Kyari in November 2023.
The new 11-man board has Mr Bayo Ojulari as the Group Chief Executive Officer (GCEO) and Ahmadu Kida as Non-Executive Chairman.
Orji, while reacting, said that Ojulari’s appointment came at a critical time when the ongoing NNPC Ltd’s reforms required renewed commitment, strategic leadership, and a firm dedication to transparency, accountability and corporate governance.
“NEITI recognised that NNPC Ltd., as Nigeria’s foremost national energy company, plays a crucial role in shaping the future of the country’s oil and gas sector.
“As a member of the NEITI National Stakeholders’ Working Group (NSWG) and a key institution in Nigeria’s extractive industry, NNPC Ltd. is responsible to ensure that the reforms initiated under the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) are strengthened, broadened, and sustained in the public interest.
“As a Supporting Company of the global Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI), NNPC Ltd. must demonstrate unwavering commitment to openness, systematic disclosure of critical industry data, responsible resource management and corporate governance best practices,” he said.
He urged the new leadership to prioritise timely publication of NNPC’s financial statements, full disclosure of production data, operational costs, and revenue remittances to help rebuild public trust and enhance Nigeria’s global reputation.
According to him, transparency in the management of oil and gas revenues remains critical to national development and ongoing poverty reduction efforts.
He said the EITI process provided a tested framework for ensuring that revenues from natural resources were prudently managed, fully accounted for, and efficiently deployed to address Nigeria’s development needs.
“We look forward to working closely with the new GCEO and his team in deepening the NEITI-EITI process in Nigeria and ensuring that NNPC Ltd. continues to align with international best practices in corporate governance and financial transparency.
“NEITI also congratulates the newly reconstituted NNPC Ltd. Board and charges them to provide forward-looking strategic direction to fast-track the ongoing transformation of NNPC Ltd. in line with the PIA.
“The Board’s role in ensuring that NNPCL remains accountable to its shareholders—the Nigerian people—is crucial to the long-term sustainability of the company and the industry at large,”.
Orji thanked the Mele Kyari Team for their dedication, hard work, mutual respect, patience, and collaboration with NEITI over the past six years.
“His tenure was marked by significant engagements with NEITI in advancing corporate transparency, public disclosures, and aligning NNPC Ltd. with the global EITI framework,” he said.
Background
It could be recalled that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu early on Wednesday appointed Ojulari to replace Mele Kyari as the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited group chief executive officer (CEO).
The president also made a sweeping reconstitution of the NNPC board, removing the chairman, Chief Pius Akinyelure and the group chief executive officer, Mallam Mele Kolo Kyari, along with all other board members appointed with Akinyelure and Kyari in November 2023.
Adedapo Segun, who replaced Umaru Isa Ajiya as the chief financial officer last November, has been appointed to the new board by President Tinubu.
Six board members, non-executive directors, represent the country’s geopolitical zones. They are Bello Rabiu, North West, Yusuf Usman, North East, and Babs Omotowa, a former managing director of the Nigerian Liquified Natural Gas (NLNG), who represents North Central.
President Tinubu 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.
Mrs Lydia Shehu Jafiya, permanent secretary of the Federal Ministry of Finance, will represent the ministry on the new board, while Aminu Said Ahmed will represent the Ministry of Petroleum Resources.
All the appointments were with immediate effect.
New GCEO’s background
Until his new appointment, Ojulari 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 (SPDC), worth $2.4 billion.
Ojulari is an alumnus of Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria. He graduated with a degree in Mechanical Engineering.
He worked for Elf Aquitaine as the first Nigerian process engineer to begin a stellar career in the oil sector.
From Elf, he joined Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria Ltd in 1991 as an associate production technologist.
Apart from working in Nigeria, he worked in Europe and the Middle East in different capacities as a 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 was chairman and member of the board of trustees of the Society of Petroleum Engineers (SPE Nigerian Council).
He is also a fellow of the Nigerian Society of Engineers.
