A humble beginning at a famous district of the Sokoto Caliphate: Umar Ajiya Isa hails from Isa town of Isa Local Government in Sokoto State. The famous Isa district was once ruled by His Royal Highness, Sarkin Gobir Aliyu Karami as the District Head of Isa before ascending to the throne of his ancestors and becoming the spiritual leader of Muslims in Nigeria and head of Sokoto Caliphate as the 5th Sultan of Sokoto. The history of Isa cannot also be complete without a mention of a popular racing horse “Dokin Iska Danfilinge” whose song by a renowned traditional Hausa singer Narambada of blessed memory had written the name of Isa with an indelible mark globally, in the sands of history.
This is the story of an astute personality, an accountant of high reputation, whose career and outstanding accomplishments in public service had spanned over 3 decades in the oil and gas sector. Umar Ajiya Isa who was born 59 years ago on the 12th day of March 1965 is not just a product of mere circumstances, but a product of hard work and commitment who had attained greater heights and carved a niche for himself as one of the most outstanding, experienced and respected finance professionals in contemporary Nigeria’s oil and gas industry. Ajiya has earned that reputation over the last 30 years working his way from the lowest rungs to the pinnacle of the accountancy professional ladder in two of Nigeria’s key oil and gas establishments – the Nigeria LNG Limited (NLNG) and the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL).
Mr. Ajiya, a seasoned Finance and Business Management Professional with practical experience in Corporate Financing, Business Strategy, and Stakeholder Management, has over 32 years of experience in the Oil and Gas Industry.
Education
Umar Ajiya Isa, the son of Ajiyan Isa of blessed memory, had his Qur’anic education in Isa town at an early age. He attended Sardauna Primary School between 1972 and 1978 for his primary education before proceeding to Federal Government College Wukari in Taraba State from 1978 to 1983 for his Secondary School education where he passed out with flying colours. In his quest for knowledge, the young brilliant Umar was admitted to study B.Sc Accounting at the famous Ahmadu Bello University Zaria, Nigeria and graduated in 1987. The determined Ajiya has always been on the lookout for ways to academically enrich his knowledge and develop his career. He was at the Lagos State University, Nigeria in 1998 for his Master of Business Administration (MBA).
Umar Ajiya Isa is a man who strongly believes in the philosophical saying that “your true success in life begins only when you commit to become excellent at what you do” and this has been explicitly exhibited in his unbroken urge to further his education which took him to the walls of colleges and global business schools of repute, home and abroad, including Cambridge, Insead Business School of France, IESE Business School of Spain and Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, amongst several others. Mr Ajiya is a Fellow of several professional bodies, amongst which are the Association of National Accountants of Nigeria (ANAN), the Institute of Credit Administration (ICA), the Chartered Institute of Taxation of Nigeria (CITN), as well as a Fellow of the Nigerian Institute of Management (NIM).
There is no doubt, that the new Ajiyan Sokoto is well-read, well-educated, certificated, exposed, enlightened and groomed to be entrusted with leadership.
Employment Records And Board Appointments
Umar Ajia started his working career in 1987 at Peugeot Automobile in Kaduna State, where he did the mandatory National Youth Service Corp (NYSC). After that, he joined Elf Petroleum Nigeria Limited (now Total Nigeria) in 1988 before leaving in 1991 to work as part of the pioneer staff of NLNG. Whilst at NLNG, he held several managerial positions including that of Manager Treasury, Finance Manager of BGT and then Marketing & Business Development Manager of NLNG. Ajiya joined the service of NNPC as General Manager of Commercial with the LNG Division under the Gas & Power Directorate of NNPC. He was responsible for the development of a business that led to the establishment of NNPC LNG Limited, a holding company for the NNPC’s interest in the LNG Marketing Joint Ventures. Furthermore, he was the pioneer Managing Director of West Africa LPG Limited, a trading Joint Venture between NNPC and Ocean Bed Limited, which now owns LPG vessels of its own.
Ajiya was appointed the Group General Manager, Corporate Planning & Strategy, (CP&S) of NNPC in March 2016. His key achievements as the Head of NNPC CP&S were the transformation and the development of new business models for NNPC Autonomous Business Units and the resuscitation of the NNPC Price Review Committee which ensures value protection through appropriate and competitive pricing of NNPC crudes, derivatives and products. Ajiya became the Managing Director of Pipelines and Products Marketing Company (PPMC), a subsidiary of NNPC in July 2017. In that position, he initiated and executed several reforms which transformed the company into a viable and profitable commercial entity. Notable among them were the PMS Ex-coastal price correction which saved PPMC about N72 billion per annum; product price optimization, Business Process Review, SAP implementation, sales automation, legacy debt reduction, commercial reorientation, effective stakeholders’ management strategy as well as unprecedented revenue and profit growth leading to a declaration of profit in 2018 for the first time in its history.
At the PPMC, Ajiya championed the transformation of PPMC from a loss-making to a profitable company for the first time in its 28 years of history. Following this remarkable success at the helm of PPMC, Ajiya was appointed the Group Executive Director (GED) of Finance and Accounts; and the Chief Financial Officer of NNPC in July 2019. Within less than a year, Mr Ajiya, again, transformed the Finance and Accounts Directorate into an efficient financial and accounting service provider and a reliable financial advisor of the NNPC Group. Together with his able lieutenants, Ajiya secured financing for key NNPC strategic projects across the upstream, midstream and downstream. The projects were expected to support NNPC and government aspirations toward increased oil and gas production, gas utilization, power generation and revenue to the Federation. He championed the restructuring of the NNPC Group Balance Sheet towards the full commercialization of NNPC in the wake of the Nigerian Petroleum Industry Bill 2020 aimed at broader oil and gas industry reform including commercialization of NNPC.
Despite the ongoing reforms, the astute CFO supported the GMD together with other NNPC Senior Management Team in sustaining NNPC’s profitability trajectory with a declaration of Group Profit After Tax of ₦287 billion in 2020, ₦674 billion in 2021, ₦2.52 trillion in 2022 and ₦3.30 trillion in 2023.
Mr Ajiya also sits on the Boards of several subsidiaries of NNPC as well as organizations including the Federal Inland Revenue Service and NEITI. He is an advocate of Transparency, Accountability, and Performance per Excellence.
Following the Passage of the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) into law in August 2021, Mr Ajiya was appointed as the CFO and a member of the Board of NNPC Limited.
In recognition of his exceptional qualifications and dedication to service, Ajiya’s re-appointment into the board of NNPCL as Chief Financial Officer, was a testament to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s commitment to appointing round pegs into round holes, thereby ensuring the realization of the “Renewed Hope Agenda” of his administration.
Ajiya’s proven track record as a thoroughbred professional, an expert in his field, and a dedicated civil servant exemplifies the calibre of talent essential in driving our nation’s oil and gas sector. He is undoubtedly one of such skilled technocrats who has served his country in the oil and gas sector for over 3 decades.
Accomplishments as philanthropist
Umar Ajiya Isa has over the years distinguished himself as a philanthropist who identifies with the progress and development of his community and the society at large. His involvement in the execution of community development projects has impacted positively on the lives of people in Isa Local Government, Sokoto East Senatorial District, Sokoto State and the country at large. Various community leaders, associations and religious groups had at various times recognized his enormous contribution by honouring him.
Umar Ajiya Isa was recently inaugurated along with other distinguished personalities as Co-chair of the Sokoto State Economic Advisory Council by the Executive Governor of Sokoto State, His Excellency, Ahmed Aliyu Sokoto, Ph.D, FCNA to contribute their quota towards the economic development of their state.
There is no doubt, that this enviable recognition and traditional title of Ajiyan Sokoto was bestowed on Umar Ajiya Isa by His Eminence, the Sultan of Sokoto, Alh. Sa’ad Abubakar (III) CFR, mni is well deserved and has come at the right time.
As the new Ajiyan Sokoto puts another feather to his cap, we wish him good health, more blessings and divine protection. We also wish to express our heartfelt gratitude to His Eminence, the Sultan of Sokoto for conferring on our beloved friend, brother, colleague and associate, Umar Ajiya Isa, with this esteemed traditional title of Ajiyan Sokoto.
As a Committee of Friends, Colleagues & Associates, we heartily felicitate the new Ajiyan Sokoto.
