President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has fired the Group Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited, Mallam Mele Kyari from office.

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All the board members of NNPCL led by Chief Pius Akinyelure have also been sacked, according to a statement made available to Media Houses in the early hours of Wednesday by the Special Adviser to the President on Information & Strategy, Mr Bayo Onanuga.

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Onanuga said, all board members who were appointed in November, 2023 were dissolved to give way for new members.

Meanwhile, President Tinubu inthe statement acknowledged the effort of Mele Kyari and his team in their contributions to rehabilitating the Port Harcourt and Warri refineries, which enabled the resumption of petroleum production. 

The statement partly reads, “President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has approved a sweeping reconstitution of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited board, removing the chairman, Chief Pius Akinyelure and the group chief executive officer, Mallam Mele Kolo Kyari.

“President Tinubu removed all other board members appointed with Akinyelure and Kyari in November 2023.”

In the new 11-member board, Engineer Bashir Bayo Ojulari has been named as the Group CEO, while Ahmadu Musa Kida takes over as the non-executive chairman. Adedapo Segun, who replaced Umaru Isa Ajiya as the company’s chief financial officer last year, has also been appointed to the new board.

Representing the country’s six geopolitical zones as non-executive directors are Bello Rabiu (North West), Yusuf Usman (North East), and Babs Omotowa (North Central). Others include Austin Avuru (South-South), David Ige (South West), and Henry Obih (South East).

Additionally, Mrs Lydia Shehu Jafiya from the Federal Ministry of Finance and Aminu Said Ahmed from the Ministry of Petroleum Resources have been appointed to represent their respective ministries.

According to the statement, the appointments take effect immediately, with President Tinubu citing Section 59, subsection 2 of the Petroleum Industry Act, 2021, as the basis for the restructuring. 

The statement noted that the move is aimed at improving operational efficiency, restoring investor confidence, increasing local content, driving economic growth, and advancing gas commercialisation and diversification.

The new board has been tasked with conducting a strategic review of NNPC’s portfolio, particularly its operated and joint venture assets, to align them with value maximisation goals. 

As part of its targets, the administration is pushing to increase oil production to two million barrels per day by 2027 and three million by 2030, while gas output is expected to reach eight billion cubic feet daily by 2027 and 10 billion by 2030.

The new board is also expected to expand NNPC’s share of crude oil refining, aiming for 200,000 barrels per day by 2027 and 500,000 by 2030.

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Senator representing Kogi Central Senatorial District, Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan on Tuesday revealed how plot to recall and assassinate her was hatched on 12th March, 2025 in Abuja.

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Narrating her ordeal when she paid Sallah visit to her Senatorial District in Kogi, the lawmaker who has been suspended for six months by the 10th Senate over alleged breach of Standing Rules of the Senate told the mammoth crowd that Senate President, Godswill Obot Akpabio got the former Governor of Kogi State, Yahaya Bello involved to perfect strategies to recall her from the Senate.

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She said, the plan took place at Transcorp Hoteon the night of 12th March at about 10pm, where Bello was told to ensure that she was eliminated outside Abuja to avoid suspicion.

She explained:: “Mind you, on the 12th March, 2025 at about 10pm, Godswill Akpabio had called Governor Ododo to tell him that he should commence my recall, but Ododo told him, it will be impossible to do that.

“This is what Governor ododo said on the 12th. Listen. Ododo told him it is impossible because the masses are with her. But Akpabio wasn’t satisfied, he then sent for Yahaya Bello and it was Senator Asuquo from Cross River State that trailed Yahaya Bello from Transcorp Hilton.

“I was told of everything that happened.

They told Yahaya Bello to commence my recall that he was going to fund. Of course, money exchanged hands that night.

“The second thing they told him was that he should try and kill me. I didn’t make this public, but I wrote to the Inspector General of Police.

“Akpabio told Yahaya Bello that killing me doesn’t happen in Abuja. It should happen here (Kogi) so that it will look as if my people killed me here.

“I didn’t make that public, but we did notify security agencies.”

The lawmaker told her constituents that she ws removed as Committee Chairman on Local Contents angrily by the Senate President because of the Liquefied Natural Gas plants she influenced to Ajaokuta.

“Why they removed me as Chairman of Senate Committee on Local Content was because of Gas plants which I influenced. Akpabio called members of his cabinet and questioned them on why the resources found its way here.

“He said I am using Niger Delta resources to promote the North and said he will stop it.

“I will prove to you what he did. After the Senate President removed me, of course it is because of five NLNG projects. He said ever since he made me Chairman of Local Contents, I have used that office to promote the north.”

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Six Commissioners and a Local Government Council Chairman have been arrested on the order of the Governor of Ebonyi State, Mr Francis Nwifuru over alleged breach of contracts.

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The Chairman Afikpo Local Government Area, Mr. Timothy Nwachi, was suspended from office with immediate effect.

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Reports said, the Commissioners were accused of contractual breach in the ongoing construction of 140 housing units for the Izzo and Amaze communities, which were displaced by the Ezilo/Ezza Ezilo communal crisis in Ishielu Local Government Area.

The names of embattled Commissioners are: Professor Omari Omaka (Tertiary Education), Victor Chukwu (Environment), Ifeanyi Ogbuewu (Culture and Tourism), Uchenna Igwe (Local Government and Chieftaincy Matters), Moses Ekuma (Health), and Felix Igboke (Project Monitoring).

They were first declared wanted following their disappearance from the State Executive Committee meeting when the matter became known in the media, and the Ebonyi State immediately launched manhunt before they were eventually arrested.

Commenting on the development, Ilang Donatus, Chairman of the State Executive Council Committee on the Izzo and Amaze Housing Project, stated that the action was taken due to the officials’ and contractors’ failure to adhere to contract terms.

Donatus noted that the officials are delaying the housing project, which Governor Nwifuru had planned to commission in celebration of his second anniversary in office.

Donatus emphasised the governor’s frustration over the slow pace of construction, noting that the housing initiative was designed to provide relief to victims of communal crises.

He was quoted as saying, “The governor is not happy over the pace of the work, which ought to have been completed. The government has decided to clamp down on the contractors and commissioners who were mandated to supervise those projects.

“As you can see, our governor is a man with a passionate heart, he likes giving succour, hence the building of those houses for the victims of the communal crisis. He is not happy that the project is delayed and has ordered to arrest of all the commissioners who are supposed to ensure the speedy completion of the housing units.

Adding to the concerns, Mrs. Maria Okohu, Special Assistant to the Governor on Women Mobilization (Ebonyi Central) and a member of the Executive Council Committee, described the situation as an act of sabotage.

She stressed that failure to complete the housing project on schedule undermines the governor’s development agenda for the state.

In response, the state government has vowed to continue its crackdown, warning that further arrests will be made until all implicated commissioners and contractors are held accountable.

Reports also suggest that the Nigerian police have issued invitations to several officials who were not present during the committee’s enforcement visits.

Upon inquiry, Ebonyi State Police Public Relations Officer, SP Joshua Ukandu, stated that he had no knowledge of the arrest or detention of the accused commissioners and the suspended council chairman.

When questioned about whether the Command had invited the officials following the governor’s directive, the police spokesperson responded, “We don’t have any commissioner in our custody. I’m not aware of any invitation and I have asked and I was told we don’t have any commissioner in custody. I will still ask about the invitation but for now, I don’t know anything of such.”

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