JUST IN: OPEC Secretary General, Muhammad Barkindo dies hours after visiting Buhari

Mohammed Barkindo, the outgoing Secretary-General of the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), is dead, the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC) has announced.

Born April 20, 1959, he passed at 63.

“We lost our esteemed Dr Muhammad Sanusi Barkindo. He died at about 11pm yesterday 5th July 2022,” the Group Managing Director of the NNPC, Mele Kyari, posted on his verified Twitter handle Wednesday morning.

“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.”

The circumstances surrounding Mr Barkindo’s death remained unclear as of the time of filing this report. Just on Tuesday, he held a meeting with President Muhammadu Buhari during which he announced that his six-year tenure as OPEC scribe was coming to an end.

At that event, Mr Buhari thanked him for being a worthy ambassador of the country.

The President even directed the Ministry of Petroleum Resources and the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited to mobilise the oil and gas industry to organise a befitting welcome reception in honour of Mr Barkindo when he finally returns home.

In his remark during the visit, Mr Barkindo attributed his success to the tremendous guidance, charisma and international gravitas of President Buhari; support from OPEC secretariat in Vienna; and cooperation by members of the organisation.

Apart from visiting Aso Rock, Mr Barkindo also on Tuesday delivered a speech at the ongoing Nigerian Oil and Gas Conference in Abuja.

A former managing director of the NNPC, Mr Barkindo was appointed OPEC Secretary-General in 2016. He was the fourth Nigerian to hold that position and the 28th person in the role overall.

He was GMD of the NNPC between 2009 and 2010.