President Tinubu Set to Become Minister of Petroleum Just Like Obasanjo, Buhari, Splits Ministry Into 2
- Just like his predecessor, President Bola Tinubu seems to have appointed himself as the Minister of Petroleum Resources
- This will be the third time since 1999 that a sitting president is heading Nigeria's most valuable resource
- There were also additional changes in the Ministry of Petroleum, as efforts are being made to ensure Nigeria maximises its natural resource
President Bola Tinubu has assigned portfolios to his 45 ministers over one week after the Senate screened them.
The president’s office announced the portfolios in a statement signed by Willie Bassey, the director of Information, in the office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation.
Source: Facebook
One notable portfolio missing is the Minister of Petroleum, and this has raised suggestions that President Tinubu has decided to take up the position just like his predecessor, Muhammdu Buhari.
Tinubu splits Petroleum Ministry
While Tinubu did not assign anyone to head the Ministry of Petroleum, he split it into the Ministry of Gas Resources and the Ministry of Petroleum Resources.
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Ekperipe Ekpo takes the Minister of State, Gas Resources position, while Heineken Lokpobiri is appointed Minister of State, Petroleum Resources.
A minister of state is a junior minister and is usually the principal deputy.
With the challenges in the oil and gas sector, most notably crude oil theft, which has seriously affected Nigeria's oil production, Tinubu has his work cut out if he is to head the Ministry of Petroleum.
List of Nigeria's petroleum ministers since 1999
President Olusegun Obasanjo was President, Petroleum Minister (1999- 2005)
For six of his eight years in office, from 1999 to 2005, Obasanjo was President, Petroleum Minister, and Minister of State for Petroleum.
Edmund Dakoru (2005-2007)
In Obasanjo's second tenure, he appointed Edmund Dakoru as the minister of State for petroleum.
Before these jobs, he had much experience in the oil industry thanks to his more than three decades spent working for Shell Petroleum Development Corporation and Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC).
Diezani Allison-Maduike( 2010- 2015)
Alison-Madueke was the first woman to hold the position of Minister of Petroleum Resources in Nigeria.
Muhammdu Buhari (2015-2023)
Like Obasanjo, President Buhari appointed himself Petroleum Minister, promising to fight corruption.
During his eight-year tenure, Buhari appointed two different state petroleum ministers.
Ibe Kachikwu (2015 - 2019)
In 2015, President Buhari selected him to serve as the minister of state for the Ministry of Petroleum Resource untill 2019.
Timipre Sylva (2019-2023)
Sylva took over from Kachikwu in 2019, serving as the state Minister of State for Petroleum Resources.
He resigned from the position in 2023 to contest the governorship election in Bayelsa.
President Bola Tinubu (2023)
While there has yet to be an official confirmation as of the time of writing, from all indications, President Tinubu has followed in the stead of his predecessor to become Nigeria's minister of petroleum resources.
This will be the third time since 1999 a sitting president wants to be in charge of the country's most valuable natural resources(Oil and Gas).
"Expect cheap fuel, strong Naira": NNPC tells Nigerians after securing $3bn loan
Meanwhile, in another report, Legit.ng revealed that the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) Limited secured a $3 billion loan from AfreximBank.
NNPC hopes the new loan will help strengthen the naira against the dollar and ultimately reduce the cost of petrol in the country.
NNPC Limited has provided a breakdown explaining that the loan is simply an upfront cash loan against proceeds from future crude oil production.
Source: Legit.ng
