Leadnaija
The Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC Ltd) on Friday announced the appointment of eight individuals into its new look management team.
LeadNaija reports that the team will be headed by Bashir Bayo Ojulari, as the Group Chief Executive Officer (GCEO).
The new management team include; Adesuwa Dozie, Secretary and Chief Legal Officer; Rowland Ewubare as Group Chief Operating Officer; Adedapo Segun as Group Chief Financial Officer; and Olalekan Ogunleye as Executive Vice President Gas, Power & New Energy.
Other members of the team are: Udy Ntia as Executive Vice President Upstream; Mumuni Dangazau as Executive Vice President Downstream; Sophia Mbakwe as Executive Vice President Business Services.
As compiled by Saturday Sun, here is the profile of the management team.
Adesuwa Dozie
Prior to joining the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC Ltd), this week as its Company Secretary and Chief Legal Officer, Dozie was the Regional General Counsel-Africa Upstream Vice Chairman , Exxonmobil Companies in Nigeria, a position she occupied till mid 2024
She is an experienced General Counsel who has acted as a trusted and purpose-driven legal advisor to multinational companies operating across Africa.
Armed with a Bachelor of Laws(LL.B), second class upper from the University of Bukingham, United Kingdom in 1996 and Cornell Law School(LL.M) in 1998, she was subsequently admitted to the New York Bar in January 1999 and the Nigerian Bar in December 2000.
Her foray in the legal practice in Nigeria commenced with Ajumogobia &Okeke from January 2001 to July 2003, after which she moved to Elf Petroleum Nigeria Limited as a Corporate Legal Counsel from August 2003 to June 2005.
At Elf Petroleum, she provided legal advice on a wide range of matters, including labor issues, fiscal issues, interpretation of legislation, interpretation of Production Sharing Contracts with the Federal Government of Nigeria, and joint operating agreements with co–venturers.
She later joined Coca-Cola Nigeria Limited from June 2005 to August 2013 as Marketing, Customer and Commercial Counsel, Eurasia Africa Group, Senior Operations Counsel, North and West Africa Business Unit and Senior Operations Counsel.
From September 2013 to November 2019, she was in General Electric (GE) occupying various positions which included, General Counsel, Gas Power Systems and Services (SSA) and later General Counsel,GE Africa.
Roland Ewubare
The new GCOO is an accomplished global business leader and administrator, recognised for his significant management roles in both Nigeria and the United States.
Most recently, he held the position of COO at the NNPC, where he oversaw two key directorates: Upstream and Ventures. He voluntarily stepped down from this role in May 2020.
Before his appointment as COO, Ewubare served as the Group General Manager of NNPC’s National Petroleum Investments Management Services, where he was responsible for managing Nigeria’s commercial partnerships with both local and international oil companies, overseeing an annual budget exceeding $15 billion.
Earlier in his career, he worked at Schlumberger, holding several high-ranking positions, including Corporate Counsel in New York, General Counsel of NPTest (a Schlumberger subsidiary) in California, and Executive Director of Schlumberger Nigeria.
Before his tenure at Schlumberger, he was a Corporate Associate at the prestigious law firm Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP in New York.
Ewubare earned his Bachelor of Laws degree from the University of Ife in Nigeria, a Master of Laws in International Business Law from Queen Mary & Westfield College, University of London, and another Master of Laws from Harvard Law School. Additionally, he holds an Executive Certificate in High Performance Leadership from Oxford University.
Roland has also shared his expertise as a visiting lecturer at the University of Maryland (2013) and the Georgia Institute of Technology (2021), where he taught a module on Energy Policy and Climate Change. He is currently an Alumni in Residence at Harvard Law School.
Adedapo Segun
Adedapo Segun, is not new to the operations of NNPC Limited and by extension the oil and gas industry.
Prior to his latest appointment as the Group Chief Financial Officer (GCFO), he previously held the positions of Chief Financial Officer (CFO) and Executive Vice President, Downstream, where he made significant contributions to the company’s downstream operations.
Other positions held in NNPC Limited included; Chief Finance and Investor Relations Officer, Group General Manager, Treasury
Prior to joining NNPC Limited, Segun worked full time as Financial Services Manager at Chevron Nigeria Limited where he was responsible for Accounts payable, treasury, intercompany accounting, cost distribution, Warri Area financial services, Port-Harcourt Area financial services.
Olalekan Ogunleye
The Executive Vice President of gas, Power, and New Energy was appointed into same position in September 2023 and has remained so till this later appointment/reconfirmation. Ogunleye was most recently the Deputy Managing Director of Nigeria LNG Limited.
He is a law graduate from Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife. He earned his Bar qualification in 1991 after completing his studies at the Nigerian Law School, Lagos, during the same year.
Additionally, he holds several certifications from reputable national and international institutions.
Lekan is an active member of various professional organizations, including the Nigerian Bar Association, International Bar Association, Chartered Institute of Arbitrators, and Association of International Petroleum Negotiators.
He has previously served as the Legal Adviser and Deputy Secretary-General of the Nigerian Gas Association.
During his nearly three-decade career, Ogunleye has occupied significant management roles within his parent company, the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC), primarily within the gas sector.
This extensive tenure has equipped him with valuable industry expertise across various facets of the gas value chain.
Before joining NLNG in April 2022, he served as the Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer (MD&CEO) of Gas Aggregation Company Nigeria Limited (GACN). GACN, established by the Federal Government of Nigeria, plays a role in ensuring adequate gas supply to the domestic market and effectively implementing the Nigerian Gas Master Plan.
Prior to this, Ogunleye held the position of MD&CEO at N-Gas Limited, a joint venture company involving NNPC, Chevron, and Shell. In this role, he oversaw the sale and marketing of gas in Benin Republic, Togo, and Ghana.
Throughout his nearly three-decade tenure in the Oil and Gas industry, he held key roles in various capacities related to gas commercialization.
This includes serving as Senior Counsel Commercial at Brass LNG, Company Secretary and Legal Adviser for the Nigerian Gas Company Ltd “NGC” from 2014 to 2017, and Company Secretary and Legal Adviser for Nigerian Gas Marketing Company Limited “NGMC” from 2017 to 2019. Both NGC and NGMC are subsidiary companies of NNPC.
Udobong Ntia
The Executive Vice President, Upstream was first appointed into similar position in November and has remained in same capacity until the recent announcement/confirmation.
Udobong retired from ExxonMobil in 2021 having worked as a Project Executive across different countries and in different capacities.
He is an experienced project executive with a demonstrated history of working in the oil and energy industry and a graduate of University of Lagos
Skilled in petroleum, gas, analytical skills, management, and leadership. Strong business development professional with a MBA focused in Business Administration and Management, General from University of Houston-Clear Lake.
Mumuni Dagazau
The new Executive Vice President, Downstream is an household name in the Nigeria’s oil and gas industry, having previously worked as the Chief Operating Officer of OVH Energy and A.A Rano.
Dagazau is a business strategist with over 30 years’ experience in the private sector. Prior to his appointment as OVH COO, he was COO at A.A. Rano Nigeria Limited. Dagazau is vastly experienced in establishing operational organizational optimization across diverse industries with core competence in the Oil and Gas sector.
He has over the years, in various capacities, become recognized for his talent in Strategy Development, Process Optimization, Corporate Vision actualization with maximum revenue generation. As Chief Operating Officer of OVH Energy, he will be responsible for Supply and Trading; Customer Service; Sales and Marketing; ASPM; Engineering and Terminal business.
Dagazu stands out as a professional with the unique ability to convert strategic plans into reality. In his previous roles, he has guided companies to establish themselves as viable businesses. He is an associate member of the Association of Business Executives, United Kingdom and Alumnus of Valley Forge Military Academy in the Unites States.
Sophia Mbakwe
The Executive Vice President, Business Services was prior to this appointment, the Managing Director Antan Producing Limited (APL), a fully integrated exploration and production company, proudly serving as a wholly owned subsidiary of NNPC Limited.
She has equally served as a Senior Business Advisor, Upstream NNPCL and also as Managing Director ENSERV (NNPC Energy Services Limited), Group General Manager, Supply Chain Management, Head Legal, Government Relations, Statoil.
She is a graduate of Law from Edo State University, Ekpoma and the Nigerian Law School (1993). She performed her mandatory NYSC and was retained at the renowned law firm of Abdulai, Taiwo, and Co. where she specialized in commercial and civil litigation.
In 1995, she joined Statoil now (Equinor) where she spent 19-years, rising to the position of Manager, Government, Public Affairs and Head Legal and Business development. As Head of CSR, Sophia deployed a sustainable community development process which led to Statoil receiving the Excellence sustainability award for the Akassa Community award at the World Petroleum Congress and by the CWC.
In 2015, she joined the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) as the pioneer GM, Contracts and Procurement Department in the Group Headquarters. In that role, Sophie was responsible for coordination of SCM support & advisory services across NNPC Strategic business Units; she supported the review & adoption of revised Supply Chain Management policy and process for the first time in over 20 years and served as Secretary of the NNPC Tenders Board, from 2015 to October 2022.
Sophie secured approval from the Bureau of Public Procurement for the use of NipeX Portal for Electronic Bid Submission to ensure Business continuity and also secured approval from ICRC for the Build, Operate and Transfer (BOT) strategy for the Downstream Critical Infrastructure (Pipelines, Depots, and associated Terminals).
As Team Lead, SCM Refinery Rehabilitation team, Sophia led the team of the Refineries Project Rehabilitation Coordinators (RPC) and the Tender Evaluation Team to the successful delivery of the contracting process & award of contract for the three (3) national Refineries including the Port Harcourt Refining Company (PHRC), the Warri Refining and Petrochemical Company (WRPC), and the Kaduna Refining & Petrochemical Company Limited (KRPC) respectively.
In August 2021, Sophie was appointed Group GM, SCMD after serving as the GM C & P for over 5 years. She also served as Team Lead for the NNPC Rebranding Initiative for NNPC Limited. Ms. Mbakwe also championed the review and benchmarking of the current Tenders Board Approval Template which resulted in approval and deployment of a new set of contracting Reporting Templates in October 2022.
