Ex-petroleum minister, Rilwanu Lukman, dies at 75

Ex-petroleum minister, Rilwanu Lukman, dies at 75

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 who has left indelible footprints on the sands of time.