Dr. Rilwanu Lukman died peacefully in a Vienna hospital yesterday after a brief illness. Lukman was appointed Minister of Mines, Power and Steel from 1984 to 1985 in the government of General Muhammadu Buhari. In 1986 he was appointed Federal Minister of Petroleum Resources, holding that position until February 1990. In that role, he was also Chairman of the Board of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation. He was briefly Minister of Foreign Affairs between January and September 1990. He was Chairman of the Board of Directors of the National Electric Power Authority (1993–1994). From 1986 he served eight consecutive terms as OPEC president. Lukman was elected OPEC secretary general on 22 November 1994. He was re-elected to a second term in 1997, holding office until the end of 2000. When Olusegun Obasanjo came into office at the start of the Nigerian Fourth Republic the President retained direct control of the Oil Ministry. Lukman was appointed Special Adviser on Petroleum and Energy Matters to the President in June 1999, and Chairman of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC). Lukman resigned in November 2003.He then became the Chairman of Afren Nigeria when it was established in May 2005. He is also a member of the Society of Petroleum Engineers (SPE) and served on the SPE board as regional Director for Africa. In 2007, Lukman became a member of the Supervisory Board of Dietsmann NV of the Netherlands, a leading International Operation & Maintenance company in the upstream energy sector. Lukman was appointed Honorary (unpaid) Advisor on Energy and Strategic Matters to President Umaru YarAdua in August 2007. In December 2008 Lukman was appointed Minister of Petroleum Resources. In February 2010 there were rumors that Lukman had tendered his resignation after a shakeup in the cabinet by the new acting President, Goodluck Jonathan, but that it had not been accepted. In March 2010, he warned that the scarcity of petroleum products in Nigeria would only get worse as long as the government held back on deregulating the industry. He left office on 17 March 2010 when Acting President Goodluck Jonathan dissolved his cabinet. He made his mark! I was privilege to meet this man on two occasions and was shocked at his humility but although we disagreed on a few issues on the Niger Delta. Lukman may your soul rest in perfect peace. Join me in wishing the family the fortitude to bear the loss.
Posted on: Thu, 24 Jul 2014 09:07:02 +0000
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015