"We have lost our esteemed Mohammed Sanusi Barkindo. He died around 11:00 pm on Tuesday, July 5, 2022," Mele Kyari said on Twitter.
"It is certainly a great loss for his family, for the NNPC, for our country Nigeria, for OPEC and for the global energy community. Burial arrangements will be announced soon," concludes Kya.
Barkindo took over as OPEC's general secretariat on 1 August 2016, elected by consensus by all members of the Vienna-based organization, who reappointed him for a second term three years later.
According to the organization's statutes, a person can only remain for two three-year terms in the highest office of the organization, which today has 13 member countries.
As Barkindo's second and final term would expire on the 31st of this month, OPEC members had already appointed his replacement, the Kuwaiti Haitham al-Ghais.
