Tinubu Names Pius Akinyelure as Board Chairman of NNPCL, Retains Kyari as GCEO
President Bola Tinubu has designated Chief Pius Akinyelure as the Chairman of the board of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited. Concurrently, President Tinubu has reappointed Mallam Mele Kyari as the Group Chief Executive Officer of NNPC Limited, citing his outstanding performance in the history of the national oil company.
Before assuming the role of Chairman, Akinyelure served as a member of the NNPC Limited board. With a wealth of experience as an administrator and oil industry practitioner, he took on the role after President Tinubu dissolved the boards of federal government agencies, including that of NNPC Limited, approximately five months ago.
Akinyelure, a certified accountant with a Master of Science Degree in Management specializing in organizational behavior, boasts over 30 years of top management/executive experience in the oil industry, both Upstream and Downstream. Before retiring from Mobil Oil Nigeria Plc on June 1, 1997, he held the position of Executive Director, Finance and External Relations.
President Tinubu dissolved the board, previously chaired by Mrs. Margary Okadigbo, on June 19, replacing her with Chief Akinyelure. Okadigbo had been appointed on January 5, 2022, by former President Muhammadu Buhari and served for 17 months.
Kyari’s retention as NNPC Limited GCEO reflects the President’s confidence in the reforms and programs implemented under his leadership. Kyari has fulfilled promises to increase the nation’s oil reserves, resolve disputes around deep offshore blocks, and oversee significant projects like the Ajaokuta-Kaduna-Kano gas pipeline.
Under Kyari’s leadership, NNPC Limited became a CAMA Company in 2021, witnessing substantial profit growth from N287bn in 2020 to N674bn in 2021. The NNPC Group’s audited financial statements have been made public for four consecutive years, a practice introduced by Kyari.
Related Posts
Kyari’s strategic roadmap, Transparency, Accountability, and Performance Excellence (TAPE), focuses on efficiency and global excellence. This approach has led to numerous accolades, including the recent 2023 Nigeria GovTech Awards for exceptional service delivery in the public sector.
The awards recognize NNPC Limited as the Best Federal MDA in Digital Initiatives in Reengineering Government Processes and Kyari as the Distinguished GovTech Trailblazer. The digital initiatives, including the activation of a Business Continuity Plan, automation of key performance indicators, and cost-saving measures, have positioned Kyari as a trailblazer in the industry, earning him the nickname “Mr. Automation.”
