Tinubu has the final say — NNPC speaks on reports of Mele Kyari’s exit

The Nigerian National Petroleum Company has stated that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has the final say on the alleged exit of its Group Chief Executive Officer, Mele Kyari, in January 2025.

Reports have emerged that Kyari, who would turn 60 years on January 8, 2025, may retire from service and be replaced with someone called Bayo Ojulari, however, NNPC spokesperson Olufemi Soneye said the claims are false.

According to him, Kyari has his time and tenure in the NNPC, however, it is the prerogative of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to keep or fire the company’s CEO.

“I don’t know anything about that; all those things are rumors and false. The man (Mele Kyari) has his time and tenure; the president has the final say. As the Minister of Petroleum, anything he wants to do, he will do. For us, it is to continue with our work and do it right.” Soneye said on Monday, December 30.

Rejecting accusations of ethic bias leveled at Tinubu towards his appointments, Soneye said:

“This is a global energy company. Movement in the company is based on expertise, skills, and ability to deliver, not on the basis that you are from X, Y, or Z; you are Muslim or Christian. Gone are the days we did that; if we do that, we cannot have foreigners working for us. We have Dutch, American, and British managing directors of our businesses. If we are doing only Muslim, Christian, Hausa, Igbo, and Yoruba, we won’t have them. Where we have Nigerians that can deliver, they are there. We, the company, look for professionals that can deliver,”

Kyari, alongside the Chief Executive of the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Commission, Gbenga Komolafe, are appointees of ex-President Muhammadu Buhari who have are still ervng under the current regime of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.