As I write this, I’m mid-air, flying back from the OPEC International Seminar an important gathering that reinforces just how critical Nigeria is to the global energy conversation. In the margins of the meetings, amid strategy sessions and bilateral engagements, I finally found a moment to pause and reflect. These past 100 days have been a whirlwind a sprint from day one and it’s only now, up in the clouds, that I can see the ground we’ve covered and the road still ahead.
On April 1, when President Bola Ahmed Tinubu announced my appointment as Group Chief Executive Officer of NNPC Limited, the timing made me question reality. April Fool’s jokes tend to come with wild twists, and this felt almost unreal. But there was no joke. This was real. And it came with enormous responsibility, one I accepted with humility, determination, and a deep sense of duty to our nation.
Since then, I have had the privilege of leading an organisation that is not just the backbone of Nigeria’s energy infrastructure, but a symbol of our national aspiration for growth, innovation, and resilience. What we do at NNPC matters not only for Nigeria’s economy but for her standing in the global energy ecosystem. In 100 days, we haven’t solved every problem, but we’ve started asking the right questions and taking bold, necessary steps toward lasting solutions.
Let me start with a simple but powerful principle that has guided our efforts: no room for inertia. From day one, we’ve acted with clarity and urgency. Nigeria cannot afford to be reactive in an industry that rewards innovation and punishes hesitation. And so, we locked arms with our upstream partners to grow production, stabilise output, and ensure consistent cash call payments. These may sound like technical items on a checklist, but they are fundamental to restoring investor confidence and ensuring the flow of energy that powers our country and economy.
Perhaps one of our proudest engineering achievements so far is the successful River Niger crossing of the Ajaokuta-Kaduna-Kano (AKK) gas pipeline project. This was a critical and complex component indeed the greatest risk to the entire project and we crossed it with precision and resolve. But more than a technical milestone, it’s a metaphor: that we can overcome the biggest challenges with the right focus and collaboration. The new NNPC is not just about infrastructure it’s about ambition.
As we progress, we’re laying the groundwork for sustainable profitability. That means saying “no” to value loss, cutting costs where necessary, and making tough calls on ventures and partnerships that haven’t delivered on expectations. It’s not about personalities it’s about performance. Every Naira must count, and that means treating our operations not just as national mandates, but as business units that must compete, deliver, and evolve.
Part of this shift involves securing the future. That’s why we’re aggressively pursuing funding and partnerships for upstream expansion and strategic midstream infrastructure. If we fail to invest in tomorrow’s assets today, we are merely renting the present. NNPC must build, not borrow, the future.
That vision also extends to energy transition. This past week, we donated 35 CNG buses to the Presidential Initiative on Compressed Natural Gas. It wasn’t a ceremonial move it was a statement. Clean, affordable energy is not a luxury. It is an imperative. The roads are speaking, and increasingly they speak the language of CNG. This initiative is a blueprint for the kind of public-private cooperation that drives meaningful impact.
Transparency is not an optional value it is foundational. That’s why we’ve reinstated the publication of our monthly financial and operational reports, a practice which, until 2021, was helping to build trust and credibility. The phrase “sunlight is the best disinfectant” may be old, but it remains as true as ever. Nigerians deserve to see how their national energy company is run and we are committed to keeping the books open and the conversation honest.
We are also reengineering our internal systems to ensure that accountability is not just a policy but a practice. This includes instituting robust consequence management frameworks, particularly in leadership. The bar must be raised and kept there.
More than our pipelines, platforms, and projects, our greatest asset is our people. From our drivers to our engineers, from administrative staff to executive leadership, NNPC is a family of professionals who carry out the mandate of national development every single day. My commitment is to make this organisation a place where people feel valued, seen, and empowered.
That’s why one of our top priorities is to enhance the Employee Value Proposition. We’re increasing transparency in senior appointments, ensuring that meritocracy not politics or proximity guides leadership decisions. We are working to embed a culture of inclusion, innovation, and excellence that reflects the best of who we are and the best of who we can become.
I won’t sugarcoat it these changes are not easy. Institutional transformation never is. But I believe deeply that the hard choices we make today are the foundations of greatness tomorrow. We’re not fixing for now; we’re building for generations.
One hundred days is not the destination. It’s the first checkpoint on a much longer road. There’s more work to be done much more. But we are moving forward with purpose, guided by clear principles and backed by an exceptional team.
Just this past week, our Board held a critical strategy session with senior management, offering invaluable direction for the next phase of our transformation. Their support and vision will be key as we scale new heights. We do not take their trust or the trust of the Nigerian people for granted.
I am grateful for the opportunity to lead, but I am even more grateful for the opportunity to serve. At the end of the day, this is not about titles. It’s about outcomes. It’s about contributing to Nigeria’s progress and helping this great nation realise its full potential in a world that is rapidly evolving.
To everyone who has supported this mission so far thank you. To those still skeptical, I welcome your scrutiny. To my colleagues at NNPC Limited: stay the course. Keep the fire burning. Bring your ideas. Bring your excellence.
Together, we are not just running a company. We are powering a nation.
Bashir Bayo Ojulari, Group Chief Executive Officer, NNPC Limited
