APPO retains Nigeria’s Omar Farouk Ibrahim as Secretary General

Sopuruchi Onwuka

The Council of Ministers of the African Petroleum Producers Organization (APPO) has extended the tenure of Nigeria’s Omar Farouk Ibrahim as the Secretary General of the body which coordinated energy policies and programmes for socio-economic development of the continent.

The Council of Ministers on Friday approved another three year tenure for Dr Ibrahim who is rising to become a credible successor of Nigeria’s oil ambassadors in the global energy diplomacy, trailing behind eminent stalwarts like Dr Rilwanu Lukman and Dr Mohammed Barkindo all of the blessed memory.

Dr.  Farouk Ibrahim was reappointed Secretary General during the APPO Ministerial Council Session held in Luanda, Zambia.

As congratulatory from the industry continue to pour in, the African Energy Chamber declared that the re-appointment of Dr Ibrahim supports APPO’s move to catalyze the African oil and gas industry expansion.

The advisory institution stated that Dr. Farouk has in his initial tenures demonstrated massive verve in attracting investments for commercialization of Africa’s petroleum resources for socioeconomic development.

Since his first appointment as the Secretary General of APPO in January 2020 Dr Farouk has led a series of positive developments across the continent’s entire oil and gas value chain. He has championed energy advocacy that advanced the peculiar needs of the continent and canvassed continued use of all available and affordable energy to accelerate the development of the continent.

Dr Farouk has led APPO to tackle global funding apathy to new petroleum developments in the continent by harnessing resources and mustering a pool of funds that now form a pan-continental energy bank. The Africa Energy Investment Corporation now fills the role of multilateral lending agency for financing petroleum development in the face of closing world funding windows for fossil energy development.

And providing funding support to the strong wave of local content policies across the continent, APPO has also forged partnership with the Africa Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) to establish the African Energy Transition Bank. The bank provides a new window of opportunity to promoters of new petroleum development projects in the continent.

The Oracle Today reports that Dr Farouk Ibrahim had, until his current stint as APPO Secretary General, functioned in various senior management positions in the Nigerian petroleum industry, multilateral producers organizations including the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC).

Dr. Farouk holds extensive experience in International Energy Relations, having served as the Governor of the Organization of Oil Exporting Countries (OPEC) for Nigeria since 2015. He has represented Nigeria at the highest levels of bilateral engagements and was on the staff of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, where he retired as the Group General Manager in charge of International Energy Relations.

Dr Omar Farouk Ibrahim holds a Doctorate degree in Political Science from Rutgers University, New Brunswick, New Jersey, USA, 1988; a Master’s degree from Bayero University, Kano, Nigeria, 1983;  and a bachelor’s degree from Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, Nigeria, 1980.

Dr Ibrahim assumed the position of APPO Secretary-General on 4th January 2020. Until then he was Adviser on International Energy Relations to the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. In that position, he represented Nigeria on the boards of several inter-governmental energy organizations including the Gas Exporting Countries’ Forum, GECF, 2015-2020; the International Energy Forum, IEF, and later the African petroleum Producers’ Association, APPA.

Until then, he was General Manager and later Group General Manager, Group Public Affairs Division, at the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, NNPC, between 2010 and 2014.

Before joining the NNPC, Dr Ibrahim spent seven years February 2003 – December 2009 as Head of the PR and Information Department and a member of senior management at the OPEC Secretariat, in Vienna. He was the Executive Editor of the OPEC Energy review and Editor-in-Chief of the OPEC Bulletin.

Before venturing into the oil sector in 2003, Dr Ibrahim was in the media where he was at various times the Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian Federal Government-owned media house the New Nigerian Newspapers between 1999 and 2003. He was also the chairman of the Board of Directors of Newpack Printing and Packaging Company Limited.

Before coming to the New Nigerian Newspapers, Dr Farouk had spent nine years in various positions at the Daily Times of Nigeria, ranging from Member of the Editorial board to a columnist and Op-Ed editor, General Manager Nigerpack Press, Group Controller of Administration.

Dr Farouk joined Bayero University as a Graduate Assistant in the Department of Political Science in 1981 after his national service and rose to the rank of Lecturer by the time he left academia for journalism in 1990.