Nigeria: Buhari appoints NNPC board of directors

Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari has appointed a board of directors to oversee the Nigerian National Petroleum Corp.

The president has appointed Senator Margret Chuba Okadigbo as president, while Mele Kyari will remain as CEO and Umar Ajiya as CFO.

He also appointed Tajudeen Umar, Lami Ahmed, Mallam Mohammed Lawal, Henry Obih, Constance Harry Marshal and Chief Pius Akinyelure to the board.

The statement also identified where in Nigeria they came from. Control of resources, and the NNPC, is a recurring and highly contested political issue.

Okadigbo is from the southeast. Three members are from the north and three from the south.

Buhari first appointed Senator Ifeanyi Ararume as chairman of the NNPC in September last year.

Buhari then appointed executive commissioners to the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC). This replaces the Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR).

The president also announced appointments to the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA).

Buhari appointed the top officials of these bodies in September 2021.

NUPRC held its first board meeting in late November. Ibrahim Isa Modibo is the president and Gbenga Komolafe is the CEO. Farouk Ahmed heads the NMDPRA.

Buhari signed the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) into law in August last year. This reformed the NNPC and overhauled the regulatory system.

The Minister of State for Petroleum Resources Timipre Sylva, in his New Year's message, expressed his high hopes for the PIA.

This year, he said, will be "big" for Nigeria "in the oil and gas sector of the economy. With the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA), Nigeria has paved the way for increased investment in the sector," he said.

The AIP gives investors confidence in the sector, he said.