There’s a quiet energy shifting beneath the surface at NNPC Towers in Abuja. No oil spill, no leak; just the unmistakable current of new leadership.
Bayo Ojulari has taken the wheel.
Appointed in April as Group Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Ltd, Ojulari inherits a company as vast as it is burdened: Africa’s largest oil firm, shaped by decades of ambition and inertia. Now, from boardroom whiteboards to refinery pipelines, a new tempo is being set.
With Ojulari, it really is not just about oil. It’s about hope, energy security, and the need to redefine the company’s story. The story, as he sees it, includes $30 billion in fresh investment by 2027, a production climb to three million barrels a day, and a transformation of NNPC’s long-idle refineries from steel carcasses into humming machines of progress.
But the job isn’t only domestic.
In a matter of days, Ojulari will touch down in Vienna, joining other global energy leaders for the ninth OPEC International Seminar. There, Nigeria’s new oil captain will pitch not just barrels and bonds, but a vision. One rooted in transparency, performance, and an appetite for reinvention.
At home, he’s already made it clear: NNPC’s future won’t be dictated by yesterday’s scripts.A reconfigured structure, data-led decision-making, and value-focused partnerships are all on the table. Even the narrative, long draped in opacity, is getting a facelift.
It’s bold talk, backed by an even bolder to-do list. But insiders say Ojulari is no stranger to complexity. Nor is he daunted by expectation.
For a country whose fortunes remain deeply tethered to crude, his leadership is being watched closely. As he steps into the global spotlight in Vienna, one thing is clear: the Bayo era at NNPC has begun, and the world, like Nigeria, will be paying attention.
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