THE outgoing Secretary General of the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), Mohammad Barkindo, is dead. He was 63.
“We lost our esteemed Dr. Mohammad Sanusi Barkindo, about 11pm yesterday, July 5, 2022,” the Group Managing Director of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited, Mele Kyari, posted on his verified Twitter handle Wednesday morning.”
The circumstances surrounding Barkindo’s death remained unclear as at Wednesday morning. Less than 24 hours earlier on Tuesday, he held a meeting with President Muhammadu Buhari in Aso Rock, during which he announced that his six-year tenure as OPEC scribe was coming to an end.
At that event, Buhari thanked him for being a worthy ambassador of the country and even directed the Ministry of Petroleum Resources and the NNPC to mobilise the oil and gas industry to organise a befitting welcome reception in his honour when he finally returns home.
In his remark during the visit, Barkindo attributed his success to Buhari’s tremendous guidance, charisma and international gravitas; support from OPEC secretariat in Vienna and cooperation by members of the organisation.
Apart from visiting Aso Rock, Barkindo also delivered a speech at the ongoing Nigerian Oil and Gas Conference in Abuja.
A former managing director of the NNPC between 2009 and 2010, Barkindo was appointed OPEC scribe in 2016, the fourth Nigerian to hold that position and the 28th person in the role overall.
