Muhammad Sanusi Barkindo, the Secretary-General of the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), is dead.
This was disclosed by Mele Kyari, Group Managing Director of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited via his Twitter handle on Wednesday morning.
We lost our esteemed Dr Muhammad Sanusi Barkindo. He died at about 11pm yesterday 5th July 2022. Certainly a great loss to his immediate family, the NNPC, our country Nigeria, the OPEC and the global energy community. Burial arrangements will be announced shortly.
— Mele Kyari (@MKKyari) July 6, 2022
According to Kyari, Barkindo died at about 11p.m on Tuesday at age 63.
What Kyari is saying
He tweeted, “We lost our esteemed Dr Muhammad Sanusi Barkindo. He died at about 11pm yesterday 5th July 2022.
“Certainly a great loss to his immediate family, the NNPC, our country Nigeria, the OPEC and the global energy community. Burial arrangements will be announced shortly.”
Barkindo’s death occurred few hours after he was celebrated by President Muhammadu Buhari for his good service.
Barkindo’s tenure as OPEC Secretary-General would have ended July 31.
Praising Barkindo yesterday, Buhari said: “You have indeed been a worthy ambassador of our country.
“We are proud of your achievements before and during your appointment at OPEC and the proud legacies you will leave behind.
“Your time in charge of the affairs of OPEC has been a very challenging one for the global oil industry.”
More details soon…
I feel sorry for him. I hope that his death is not related to the problems created by ‘oil war’.