“Experts Decry NNPC Board Appointment as Illegal, Call for Compliance with Petroleum Industry Act”

A coalition of petroleum industry experts has raised strong objections to the recent reconstitution of the Board of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC Ltd), citing a clear breach of the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) 2021.

In a formal statement signed by Mr. Abolade Adewale and released over the weekend, the group called for the immediate reversal of the appointment of Mr. Aminu Said Ahmed, a Senior Manager at the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA), who was named as the Ministry of Petroleum Resources (MPR) representative on the NNPC Ltd Board.

The experts insist the appointment contravenes Section 59(2)(d) of the PIA, which mandates that the representative of the MPR on the NNPC Board must be “not below the rank of a Director.” They emphasized that Mr. Ahmed, a Grade Level 14 officer in an independent regulatory body (NMDPRA), neither holds the rank of Director nor is a staff member of the Ministry, making the appointment invalid and unlawful.

“The NMDPRA is a standalone regulatory agency and not an extension of the Ministry of Petroleum Resources,” the statement read. “Therefore, appointing its staff to represent the Ministry undermines both the spirit and letter of the PIA, and amounts to a calculated attempt to marginalize the Ministry’s statutory authority.”

The experts also drew attention to the fact that the Federal Ministry of Finance (FMF) is appropriately represented on the same board by its Permanent Secretary — in line with the PIA’s provisions. They urged President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to maintain institutional balance and uphold the law by appointing a senior official — preferably the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Petroleum Resources — to the board.

In addition, the group raised broader concerns about representation in international oil and gas fora such as the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC). According to Section 3(1)(d) of the PIA, only the Ministry should lead Nigeria’s delegations to such bodies. They accused some quarters of assigning non-Ministry officials to these roles out of favoritism, warning of risks to institutional memory, policy continuity, and national credibility.

“We respectfully request that all nominations for international petroleum-related engagements be restricted to serving officers of the MPR, formally appointed by the Minister in accordance with the law,” Adewale stated.

The group concluded by urging President Tinubu to demonstrate his well-known commitment to legal order and good governance by reversing the irregular appointment and reinstating statutory compliance. “We are confident that Mr. President, as a seasoned democrat and reformer, will act swiftly to correct this anomaly and preserve the integrity of the Petroleum Industry Act 2021,” the statement read.

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