ABUJA: In a sweeping move aimed at revitalizing Nigeria’s oil sector, the NNPC LTD has dismissed the managing directors of its three major refineries: Port Harcourt Refining Company, Warri Refining and Petrochemical Company, and Kaduna Refining and Petrochemical Company.
Multiple senior officials, including Bala Wunti—former chief of the National Petroleum Investment Management Services—were also affected by the shake-up. Additionally, staff with less than a year to retirement were asked to leave early, insiders revealed.
The overhaul comes just weeks after President Bola Tinubu abruptly sacked former NNPC Group Chief Executive Officer, Mele Kyari, and the company’s board on April 2, citing poor performance and stagnant crude production. Kyari had served as GCEO since 2019.
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Presidency sources confirmed that the decision was performance-driven. “The previous management was going in circles. Some had become part of the problem. We needed new energy and direction,” one official said.
The newly appointed Group CEO, Bayo Ojulari, a seasoned oil executive from Kwara State, previously led a $2.4 billion acquisition of Shell Petroleum Development Company through Renaissance Africa Energy.
He is joined by Musa Ahmadu-Kida as non-executive chairman on the reconstituted 11-man board.
Ojulari has been tasked with achieving key performance targets, including raising crude oil production to 2 million barrels per day by 2027 and 3 million by 2030, as well as producing 10 billion cubic meters of gas by the same year. A review of all oil blocks and assets has also been mandated.
Meanwhile, Maryam Idrisu has been named Managing Director of NNPC Trading, the subsidiary responsible for crude oil transactions.
Despite multiple inquiries, NNPCL spokesperson Olufemi Soneye did not respond to requests for comment. However, sources attributed the removal of the refinery heads to prolonged underperformance, with the Warri refinery’s $897 million revamp reportedly failing and Port Harcourt’s output struggling below 40% capacity.
Industry experts have continued to express concerns over NNPCL’s transparency and operational efficiency, particularly in the management of Nigeria’s refineries.
