President Bola Tinubu has officially sworn in the newly appointed board and management of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL), seven weeks after their appointment was first announced on April 2, 2025.
The swearing-in ceremony was held on Thursday afternoon at the Council Chamber of the Aso Rock Presidential Villa in Abuja, where President Tinubu presided over the brief yet highly symbolic event.
During the ceremony, the President administered the oath of office to the new board members, including Ahmadu Kida, who was appointed as the board’s Non-Executive Chairman, and Bashir Ojulari, the newly named Group Chief Executive Officer of NNPCL. Other distinguished individuals were also inaugurated into the board, marking a new phase in the company’s corporate governance structure.
This move is in line with the President’s ongoing reform of Nigeria’s oil and gas sector, aimed at repositioning NNPCL for increased efficiency, transparency, and global competitiveness.
Following the ceremony, President Tinubu left for the State House Banquet Hall, where he was scheduled to attend the All Progressives Congress (APC) National Summit, alongside other top government functionaries and party stakeholders.
The newly constituted board is made up of 11 members, carefully selected from Nigeria’s six geopolitical zones and relevant federal ministries to ensure balanced representation and optimal oversight of the national oil company’s operations.
Full list of new NNPCL board
Adedapo Segun and Bello Rabiu – Representing the North West
Yusuf Usman – North East
Babs Omotowa – North Central, and former MD of Nigeria Liquefied Natural Gas (NLNG)
Austin Avuru – South-South, Non-Executive Director
David Ige – South-West
Henry Obih – South-East
Lydia Jafiya – Permanent Secretary, Federal Ministry of Finance (Ministry’s representative)
Aminu Ahmed – Representative of the Ministry of Petroleum Resources
Other top government officials, including the Minister of Finance, Wale Edun, Minister of Information, Mohammed Idris, and Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Heineken Lokpobiri, were also in attendance at the swearing-in event.
With this development, the NNPCL is expected to continue its transition as a commercial entity under the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA), with greater emphasis on performance, corporate governance, and revenue generation for the Nige
rian economy.