Ecuador pledges support
By Awaal Gata
Abuja
A former group managing director of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), Mohammed Barkindo, was yesterday appointed the secretary-general of the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC).
Barkindo’s appointment was announced in Vienna, Austria, yesterday after the group’s 169th meeting.
He is succeeding the Libyan Minister of Oil, Abdalla El-Badri, whose tenure will end next month.
In 2006, Barkindo, who was at the helm of affairs at the NNPC between 2009 and 2010, was nominated by the federal government to vie for the position.
Meanwhile, the Ecuadorian government has pledged to support Barkindo.
In a statement, after the appointment, the Ecuadorian Ambassador to Nigeria, Leopoldo Rovayo, congratulated the new secretary-general, expressing his confidence in him.
According to the ambassador, the appointment “will continue to encourage the OPEC countries because of Barkindo’s credentials and antecedents.”
Rovayo also expressed his country’s readiness to be engaged in a productive cooperation with Nigeria.
