The Secretary-General of the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), Muhammad Sanusi Barkindo, was in the early hours of Wednesday confirmed dead.

The Group Managing Director of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited, Mele Kyari, disclosed the demise of Barkindo via a tweet on his verified Twitter handle.

Kyari, who described the death of Barkindo as “a great loss”, disclosed that the OPEC boss died at about 11pm on Tuesday.

Below are a few things to know about the OPEC Secretary-General:

Barkindo was on April 20, 1959 in Yola, Adamawa State.

He completed his Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science from Ahmadu Bello University Zaria, in 1981, and Masters of Business Administration degree from Washington University in 1991.

OPEC Secretary-General, Muhammad Barkindo, dies at 63

Prior to MBA, in 1988 he earned a PostGraduate Diploma in Petroleum Economics from Oxford University.

He was awarded an honorary doctorate from the Federal University of Technology, Yola, Adamawa State.

Barkindo previously served as the acting Secretary-General in 2006 and represented Nigeria on OPEC’s Economic Commission Board from 1993 to 2008.

He also led the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation during 2009 to 2010 and headed Nigeria’s technical delegation to UN climate negotiations since 1991.

He served as the Secretary General of OPEC since August 1, 2016, and would have bowed out on July 31, 2022, following the completion of his tenure.

Barkindo died on Tuesday, July 5, 2022, at the age of 63.

The Star