The immediate past Group Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Ltd, Mr Mele Kyari on Friday officially handed over the baton of leadership to his successor, Mr Bayo Ojulari.
His hand over as the GCEO marks the end of an illustrious career at the NNPC, which started in 1991.
In a brief handover ceremony held at the NNPC Towers on Friday, the GCEO commended Kyari for his contributions to the growth of NNPC Ltd and his sterling service to the nation.
He disclosed that the objective of his management was to consolidate on the successes of his predecessor and take the company to the next level.
He said though the targets set for his management were quite enormous, he would be relying on the co-operation of the Management and staff of the company, as well as the counsel of his predecessor to achieve set targets.
“I will be counting on your support. I will need it. I will be coming around to seek your counsel,” Ojulari told Kyari.
Earlier in his remarks, Kyari congratulated Ojulari and thanked the Management and staff of the company for their support while in office.
He pledged to do everything within his power to support the new Management to succeed, stressing that he was only a call away.
Kyari, a geologist has been instrumental in repositioning the NNPC Ltd and turning it from a loss-making entity into a profitable company that has raked over N6tn in profitability in the last four years.
From a loss position of N1.7bn in 2019, the management of the NNPC under Kyari’s leadership has been able to reverse the trend by posting a profit of N287bn in 2020, N674.1bn in 2021, and N2.54tn in 2022 before hitting the current figure of N3.29tn in 2023.
He also spearheaded the rehabilitation of the Port Harcourt and Warri Refineries making both Refineries to begin operation last year and guaranteeing energy security for Nigerians.
The company under Kyari has delivered numerous gas projects that would drive CNG gas penetration across the cou
Kyari’s appointment at the helm of NNPC in 2019 was borne of solid reputation built over the years. An insider with a wealth of experience traversing many divisions of the company’s operations including occupying the position of Group General Manager, Crude Oil Marketing Division and Nigeria’s national representative to the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), his outfield pedigree in Petroleum economics and crude oil and gas trading would prove pivotal to delivering a stellar performance long awaited by Nigerians.
As an internal change agent, Kyari saw himself as a catalyst for the change management process which will reposition NNPCL, the much maligned symbol of Nigeria’s vast natural resource wealth hobbled by systemic mismanagement, corruption and inefficiency.
His Roadmap to Global Excellence, encapsulated the strategic focus of his management is borne out of his conviction that as the main enabler of the Nigerian economy, the NNPCL must entrench processes to ensure steady production growth and profitability across the oil and gas value chain.
In practical terms, his new management philosophy anchored on Transparency, Accountability and Performance (TAPE), envisions the transparency component of the agenda to maintain and enhance positive image and to share the values of integrity and transparency to all stakeholders whereas the accountability part of the vision would ensure compliance with business ethics, policies, regulations and accountability to all stakeholders.
Kyari envisioned the Performance Excellence leg of the agenda to entrench a high level of efficiency hinged on efficient implementation of business processes which would also emplace an appropriate reward system for exceptional performance amongst the workforce.
Fully appreciative of the critical role of technology in driving and unfurling the enduring vision he had in mind, he activated a Business Continuity Plan (BCP), based on digital automation of the company’s processes.
Under his guidance, NNPCL-IT Division automated Key Performance Indicator Dashboard across the entire IT Enterprises and architecture. This masterstroke led to the improvement of reporting efficiency real-time performance tracking.
The Microsoft Enterprise Additional Licenses for NNPCL Digital Transformation initiatives he activated led to an estimated cost-saving of over $1m to the company.
Reforms, profitabilty and transparency have been the hallmark of Mele Kyari’s leadership.
