The newly appointed board and management team for the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Ltd. (NNPCL) pledged on Monday to produce two million barrels of crude oil daily starting in 2024.

Chief Pius Akinyelure, Non-Executive Board Chairman of NNPCL, stated this while briefing State House Correspondents shortly after the inauguration of the board by President Bola Tinubu.

Akinyelure also promised that the board would overhaul the security architecture of the NNPCL to curb incidents of stealing and vandalizing pipelines.

“We have just concluded our inauguration ceremony with Mr President, and we have assured him of our collective efforts to turn around the fortunes of oil and gas.

“And to make it a company that we will all be proud of and a company that will help sustain the economy and make sure we create some element of prosperity for Nigerians.”

He revealed that the President had assured the new board of his support to enable them to discharge their mandate diligently and effectively.

“He (President) has assured us of his support, and on our part too, we have given him our 100 per cent assurance.

“We will do the best we can to make sure that the key performance in the oil and gas industry in Nigeria will probably become number one in Africa and probably compete with the leading oil and gas industry around the world.

“It is not an easy task, but we know we had the challenge of oil theft vandalizing our pipelines.

“Our commitment is to produce at the rate of two million barrels per day anytime next year.

“But to do this, we have to overhaul our security architecture so that the incidences of stealing and vandalisation of pipelines can be reduced.

“And this will possibly help to keep all our cash books, and we will become a better nation,” Akinyelure said.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that Tinubu recently approved the appointment of a new board and management team for NNPCL, with effect from December 1.

Chief Ajuri Ngelale, the Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, who made the announcement, said the appointment complied with Section 59(2) of the Petroleum Industry Act, 2021.

The appointees are: Chief Pius Akinyelure, Non-Executive Board Chairman; Malam Mele Kolo Kyari, Group Chief Executive Officer; and Alhaji Umar Isa Ajiya, Chief Financial Officer.

Others are Mr Ledum Mitee — Non-Executive Director, Mr Musa Tumsa — Non-Executive Director, and Mr Ghali Muhammad — Non-Executive Director.

The rest are Prof. Mustapha Aliyu — Non-Executive Director, Mr David Ogbodo — Non-Executive Director, and Ms Eunice Thomas — Non-Executive Director. NAN