Photo: Bashiru Bayo Ogunlari, GCEO, NNPCL
By Douglas Maha, with agency report
In a major leadership shakeup, the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC Ltd.) has named a new eight-member senior management team, signaling a strategic pivot aimed at boosting efficiency and refining its operational direction.
Announced in a statement released Friday by company spokesperson Olufemi Soneye, the appointments take immediate effect and reflect a broader effort to streamline the national oil giant’s corporate structure.
Leading the new team is Group Chief Executive Officer Bashir Bayo Ojulari. He will be supported by:
- Rowland Ewubare, Group Chief Operating Officer
- Adedapo Segun, Group Chief Financial Officer
- Olalekan Ogunleye, Executive VP, Gas, Power & New Energy
- Udy Ntia, Executive VP, Upstream
- Mumuni Dangazau, Executive VP, Downstream (succeeding Isiyaku Abdullahi)
- Sophia Mbakwe, Executive VP, Business Services
- Adesua Dozie, Company Secretary & Chief Legal Officer
The leadership changes are part of a wider restructuring drive following Ojulari’s recent appointment as GCEO.
In parallel, NNPC shareholders—the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Petroleum Resources—have formally endorsed the appointments through a joint resolution. The resolution, aligned with the Petroleum Industry Act, authorizes the company to submit the new executive roster to the Corporate Affairs Commission for registration.
The document, signed by both ministries, grants the board full authority to carry out any necessary legal or procedural steps to formalize the new structure. It also empowers the company secretary to complete all required filings.
This leadership overhaul follows President Bola Tinubu’s sweeping reconstitution of the NNPCL board earlier in the week, which included the removal of Chairman Chief Pius Akinyelure and other directors appointed in November 2023.
With a new leadership slate in place, NNPC is positioning itself for what appears to be a more aggressive push toward energy reform and institutional renewal.
