Legacy OF Leadership: Full List OF NNPC Managing Directors, Featuring Bayo Ojulari And Mele Kyari

The announcement, made on Wednesday, marks a significant shake-up in the NNPCL leadership, which also saw the removal of Chairman Chief Pius Akinyelure and all other board members appointed in November 2023.

The NNPC, established in 1977, has had 20 individuals lead the company as Group Managing Directors since its inception.

Here’s the full list of NNPC MDs from inception to present:

1. Bashir Bayo Ojulari (2025-present)
   Engineer Bashir Bayo Ojulari, a native of Kwara State, brings over three decades of experience in the oil and gas industry to his new role. Prior to his appointment, Ojulari served as the Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer of Renaissance Africa Energy Company, where he led a $2.4 billion acquisition of Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria (SPDC) through a consortium of indigenous energy firms. He holds a degree in Mechanical Engineering from Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria. Ojulari began his career with Elf Aquitaine and later joined Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria in 1991.

2. Mele Kyari (2019-2025)
   Mele Kyari, a Nigerian geologist and crude oil marketer, served as the first Group Managing Director of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited. Before his appointment, Kyari was the Group General Manager of the Crude Oil Marketing Division of NNPC and Nigeria’s representative at the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) since 2018.

3. Maikanti Baru (2016-2019)
   Maikanti Baru, an engineer and crude oil marketer, served as the 18th Group Managing Director of NNPC from July 2016 to July 2019. He had previously been the Group General Manager of the National Petroleum Investment Management Services and was a fellow of the Nigerian Society of Engineers and the Nigerian Institution of Mechanical Engineers.

4. Ibe Kachikwu (2015-2016)
   Ibe Kachikwu, a Nigerian politician and lawyer, served as both the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources and Group Managing Director of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation.