Dr Ibe Emmanuel Kachikwu, the former Minister of State, Petroleum Resources in former President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration, doesn’t seem to be content with just being a visiting Professor of Law at Baze University, Abuja; Afe Babalola University, Ado-Ekiti, Ekiti State, ABUAD, and the University of Benin, Benin City, Edo State – a position he was recently bestowed with, in recognition of his exceptional contributions to the legal profession, particularly in the field of energy law and policy.
The energy expert of over 30 years has reportedly put in motion, a lobby machinery that he hopes will materialize into him become a part of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s government. We gathered that Kachikwu has his eyes most likely set on the petroleum ministry where he believes his expertise would be of immense benefit to the petroleum industry which is in dire need of a drastic reform.
One of Tinubu’s numerous cronies is alleged to be the vehicle through which he hopes to tickle Tinubu’s fancy for possible consideration. Judging by his groundbreaking initiatives aimed at reforming and repositioning the country’s oil and gas sector when he was minister, one cannot deny that Kachikwu will be a good fit if his plan turns out successful.
Also, his antecedents will likely work in his favour. A former President of OPEC, Kachikwu was a former three-time President of African Petroleum Producers’ Organization, APPO, the Ministerial Council of African Petroleum Ministers and undertook major reforms of APPO to bring it alive. He also oversaw the installation of late Barkindo Sanusi as Secretary General of OPEC in 2016 and H.E. Farouk Ibrahim as Secretary General of APPO in 2019.
Prior to his appointment as the Group Managing Director of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, NNPC, he was the Executive Vice Chairman of Mobil Producing Nigeria Unlimited and General Counsel for ExxonMobil Nigeria affiliate Upstream and Downstream Companies in Nigeria.
