Dr. Lukman: Nigeria’s ex-oil minister is dead

Dr. Rilwanu Lukman, former Nigerian Minister of Petroleum passed away in Vienna Austria, where he has been living for sometime. It has been reported that he has been sick for a while and has been receiving treatment in Europe.

Dr. Rilwanu Lukman was powerful and influential person in Nigeria oil and gas industry.

Lukman was 76 years old. He was born in Zaria, northern Nigeria, on Aug. 26, 1938.

He was a trained engineer by profession and has held many powerful position in Nigeria oil and gas industry. Before he was appointed oil minister, he was General Manager and Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian Mining Corporation, Jos.

While he was Nigerian oil minister, he was subsequently appointed Secretary General of OPEC (Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries) between   January 1995 to 31 December 2000.

He later became special oil adviser to Nigerian President Obasanjo and was reappointed oil boss as  Minister of Petroleum Resources by Nigerian president Umaru Yar’Adua, in December 2008 until March 2010.

Bloomberg News reported that, Lukeman “put reforms in place to change the way Nigeria regulated and funded its oil and gas industry, overseeing the drafting of the first Petroleum Industry Bill sent to lawmakers in December 2008. The legislation remains stalled in parliament over differences between the government and energy companies including Royal Dutch Shell Plc (RDSA), Exxon Mobil Corp. (XOM) and Chevron Corp. (CVX)”

He was honored with many international awards and accolades including honorary doctorate degree.

“Lukman was made a Knight of the British Empire (KBE) in 1989 and Officer of the Legion d’Honneur of France in 1990, as well as being conferred with the First Class rank of the Order of the Liberator from the Republic of Venezuela. He was the first African ever to be honored with the Fellowship of the Imperial College, University of London.”