Melle Kyari, CEO of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, said today, Wednesday, that the Secretary-General of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries, Muhammad Barkindo, has passed away.
"We have lost the respected Mohamed Sanusi Barkindo," Kyari added on Twitter, adding that the death occurred around 11 pm yesterday, Tuesday.
He added that the death is "a great loss to his immediate family, the National Petroleum Council, our country Nigeria, OPEC, and the global energy community."
Who is Barkindo?
Muhammad Sanusi Barkindo was born on April 20, 1959.
He graduated from Ahmadu Bello University, the largest university in Nigeria, and the second largest in Africa after Cairo University in Egypt.
He received his postgraduate studies from Oxford University in America.
He has led the Nigerian technical delegation to the UN climate negotiations since 1991.
He represented Nigeria in the OPEC Economic Committee during the period 1993-2008.
He led the Nigerian National Oil Corporation during the period 2009-2010.
Appointed as OPEC Secretary-General for a period of 3 years, effective August 1, 2016.
He was elected to a second term in 2019 that ends in July 2022.