Former Group Managing Director(GMD) of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, (NNPC), Mr. Mohammed Barkindo has been nominated by the Federal Government for the position of the Secretary-General of Organisation for Petroleum Exporting Countries(OPEC) come July 2016. Barkindo had previously served as Acting Secretary-General of OPEC in 2006, and was GMD of the NNPC from 2009 to 2010. Wall Street Journal reports that ‘ OPEC has been trying to replace Mr. Badri since 2012, but members failed to reach a consensus over whether a national from Iraq, Saudi Arabia or Iran should head the organization. The secretary-general is nominated for a three-year term by member countries. The position is voted on at ministerial meetings, with the next one scheduled on June 2 in Vienna. OPEC delegates have previously said Indonesia, Nigeria or Angola are the most likely countries to produce the cartel’s leader because they are seen as neutral in the group’s geopolitical disagreements.’
