Diezani: Kachikwu replaces former minister as OPEC president

Alison-Madueke was appointed into the position as its first female occupant during OPEC’s 166th ordinary meeting in November 2014.

Nigeria’s Minister of State for Petroleum, Ibe Kachikwu has replaced former minister, Diezani Alison-Madueke as the president of the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC).

This was revealed in a recent update made by the organization on its website.

Alison-Madueke was appointed into the position as its first female occupant during OPEC’s 166th ordinary meeting in November 2014.

She automatically vacated the position after President Muhammadu Buhari was inaugurated in May 2015.

Buhari is currently Nigeria’s substantive petroleum minister, a position which he is occupying in a bid to rid the sector of the corruption which has plagued it for years.

The president has vowed to deal with corruption in the country and is also seeking the help of foreign governments to recover the country’s looted funds.

Alison-Madueke is currently in the eye of the storm after being detained on money laundering charges in the United Kingdom.

The former minister and her associates are alleged to have looted billions of dollars in oil funds from Nigeria’s treasury.

READ: Diezani Alison-Madueke arrested in London

Buhari appointed Kachikwu, who is also the Group Managing Director of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), to serve as deputy minister on November 11, 2015.

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