A former
Minister
of
Petroleum,
Dr.
Rilwanu
Lukman,
is dead.
He died in Austria on Monday at the age of 75.
Senior officials of the Federal Ministry of Petroleum Resources
and the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation confirmed
Lukman’s death to one of our correspondents in Abuja.
An official of the ministry, who pleaded not to be named
because he was not authorised to speak on the matter, said the
former minister succumbed to death after a prolonged battle
with prostrate cancer.
Industry stakeholders who spoke with one of our
correspondents during separate interviews, described Lukman
as one of the best petroleum ministers in the country.
Lukman was born in Zaria, Kaduna State, on August 26, 1938
and he held several ministerial positions before he became the
Secretary General of the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting
Countries, from January 1, 1995 to December 31, 2000.
A trained mining engineer, Lukman was on December 18, 2008,
appointed Minister of Petroleum Resources during the
administration of the late president, Umaru Yar’Adua, a position
he held till March 2010.
Meanwhile, Nigerians including President Goodluck Jonathan,
Senate President, David Mark, a former Vice President, Alhaji
Atiku Abubakar, and some governors have described his death
as a great loss to the country.
Jonathan in a statement by his spokesman, Reuben Abati,
commiserated with the former minister’s family, the government
and people of his home state, Kaduna, as well as his friends,
associates and all those he mentored over the years in the
domestic and global oil industry.
The statement read, “As Alhaji Lukman’s soul returns to its
Maker, President Jonathan joins all who knew him in giving
thanks to God Almighty for bestowing him on the nation and for
the great intelligence, integrity, competence, and humility with
which he distinguished himself in all his national and
international assignments.”
Mark, in a statement by his Chief Press Secretary, Mr. Paul
Mumeh, noted that Lukman was one of the few Africans who
left their positive foot prints on the global stage.
He maintained that Nigeria had lost a bright, fertile mind, with
the death of the elderstatesman.
“As a public servant, he was extra- ordinary. As OPEC Secretary
General, Lukman demonstrated competence, excellence and
high sense of wisdom before the international community and
indeed raised the reputation of Nigeria as a strategic and
important global player especially in the oil and gas sector.”.
“Nigeria has lost one of her brightest and fertile minds. He was
a man of honour and integrity. We shall miss his deep sense of
wisdom and knowledge,” Mark stated.
Atiku in a statement by his media office in Abuja on Monday
described the deceased as the nation’s best oil minister.
He recalled that Lukman’s contribution to the management of
the nation’s oil and gas sector provided the impetus for his
elevation as Secretary General of OPEC.
The Turaki Adamawa described his death as a monumental loss
and prayed that Allah would grant his family and the nation the
fortitude to bear the loss.
Also, the Northern States Governors’ Forum has expressed
shock over Lukman’s death.
The Chairman of the NGF, who is also the Niger State Governor,
Dr. Babangida Aliyu, said Lukman was Nigeria’s gift to the
world, adding that his intellectual inputs to the petroleum sector
and science as a whole were indelible.
This was contained in a press statement issued by Aliyu’s Chief
Press Secretary, Mr. Israel Ebije on Monday.
The governors stated, “Humanity has lost a thoroughbred
professional, fine gentleman, world-class petroleum engineer
and astute manager of human and material resources
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