Report: NNPC CEO Mele Kyari likely to go before 2025

The Group CEO of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC), Mele Kyari, may be removed from his position before the end of 2025, according to a new report.

Mr Kyari is the known to be the last senior official retained from the previous administration of President Muhammadu Buhari.

When President Bola Tinubu took office last year, he kept both Mr Kyari and a few other top officials, including Yusuf Bichi, the director-general of the State Security Service. Mr Bichi was dismissed in August and replaced by Adeola Ajayi, raising speculation that Mr Kyari could also be on his way out.

Mr Kyari has faced mounting criticism over his management of the state oil company, particularly after billions of dollars were spent on unsuccessful efforts to repair the Port Harcourt Refinery.

Shortly after his appointment in 2019, Mr Kyari promised to revive Nigeria’s four ailing refineries by 2023 and end the country’s dependence on imported refined fuel. Nigeria continued to import fuel until September when the NNPC began to buy from the newly operational Dangote Refinery.

His handling of transactions between the NNPC and the Dangote Refinery has also come under fire. Many Nigerians believe that a lack of transparency in these deals has contributed to the surge in fuel prices, exacerbating the country’s severe cost-of-living crisis.

Additionally, Mr Kyari has been accused of not doing enough to combat crude oil theft or to boost Nigeria’s production volumes, both of which are crucial to increasing revenue and stabilizing the naira.

According to The Africa Report, Mr Kyari’s position has been “in the danger zone for some time.” Citing insider sources, the publication said that Mr Kyari has privately expressed his readiness to step down, with his departure potentially occurring in the coming weeks. “Kyari has been in the danger zone for some time,” a source told the magazine. “He has told confidantes of his readiness to leave. He will likely leave in the next couple of weeks.”

As part of the leadership shakeup, two high-ranking NNPC officials, Oritsemeyiwa Eyesan and Umar Ajiya, were issued disengagement letters this week following a board meeting.

NNPC spokesperson Olufemi Soneye told Pluboard the report that Mr Kyari may be removed soon was “false”.

Increased Production

On Thursday, the NNPC recently announced a significant boost in oil production, claiming to have reached 1.8 million barrels per day (bpd), with projections to hit two million bpd by year-end.

The news has surprised many, as the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) had estimated Nigeria’s production at around 1.3 million bpd in October. Nigeria typically includes about 250,000 bpd of condensate production in its total output, according to Reuters.

The NNPC attributed the production increase to collaborative efforts with joint venture operators, production-sharing contract partners, security agencies, and the government.

“The team has done a great job in driving this project of not just production recovery but also escalating production to expected levels that are in the short and long terms acceptable to our shareholders,” Mr Kyari said at a press briefing.

The NNPC established a ‘war room’ in June to coordinate efforts with oil partners, government entities, and private security firms to tackle crude oil theft.

Since then, several vessels involved in oil theft have been destroyed, and illegal refiners have been arrested. Mr Kyari said that coordinated efforts across the production chain, supported by heightened pipeline monitoring, have been critical to the production recovery.