Rilwanu Lukman was a Nigerian engineer who held several ministerial positions in the Nigerian Federal government before becoming Secretary General of OPEC from 1 January 1995 to 31 December 2000.
26 Facts About Rilwanu Lukman
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On 18 December 2008, Lukman was appointed Minister of Petroleum Resources by Nigerian president Umaru Musa Yar'Adua, holding office until March 2010.
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Rilwanu Lukman trained as a mining engineer at the College of Arts, Science, and Technology, Zaria, and then at Imperial College, London.
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Rilwanu Lukman earned a higher degree in mining engineering from the University of Mining and Metallurgy in Leoben, Austria.
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Rilwanu Lukman obtained a degree in mineral economics from McGill University, Montreal in 1978, and an honorary doctorate degree in chemical engineering from the University of Bologna in Italy.
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Rilwanu Lukman then became general manager of the Cement Company of Northern Nigeria.
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Rilwanu Lukman was appointed Minister of Mines, Power and Steel from 1984 to 1985 in the government of General Muhammadu Buhari.
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Rilwanu Lukman was briefly minister of foreign affairs between January and September 1990.
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Rilwanu Lukman was chairman of the board of directors of the National Electric Power Authority.
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Rilwanu Lukman was elected OPEC secretary general on 22 November 1994, succeeding Dr Subroto of Indonesia, whose three-year term ended on 30 June 1994.
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Rilwanu Lukman was a compromise choice between two competing candidates, Hossein Kazempour Ardebili of Iran and Alirio Parra of Venezuela.
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Rilwanu Lukman was re-elected to a second term in 1997, holding office until the end of 2000.
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Rilwanu Lukman was a central figure in the agreement between Iran and Saudi Arabia to control oil prices early in 1999, followed by agreements to reduce production levels, which led to a surge in prices towards the end of the 1990s.
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Rilwanu Lukman was appointed Special Adviser on Petroleum and Energy Matters to the president in June 1999, replacing Godwin Aret Adams, and chairman of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation.
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Rilwanu Lukman said the blocks would be open to commercial tender from both local and foreign companies.
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Rilwanu Lukman was in favour of restructuring the NNPC to make it a fully commercial enterprise, but did not agree that it should divest its controlling stake in the oil producing joint ventures, and at that time was not in favour of rapid deregulation of the domestic fuels market.
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The friction had apparently been building up after Rilwanu Lukman completed his term as OPEC president in early 2002, and after Obasanjo moved control and administration of oil blocks from the Petroleum Resources ministry to the NNPC in June 2002.
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Rilwanu Lukman then became the chairman of Afren Nigeria when it was established in May 2005.
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Rilwanu Lukman is a member of the Society of Petroleum Engineers and served on the SPE board as regional Director for Africa.
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Rilwanu Lukman was appointed Honorary Advisor on Energy and Strategic Matters to President Umaru Yar'Adua in August 2007.
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In December 2008 Rilwanu Lukman was appointed Minister of Petroleum Resources, and resigned from his position with Afren, putting his holdings in a blind trust.
22.
In February 2010 there were rumours that Rilwanu Lukman had tendered his resignation after a shakeup in the cabinet by the new acting president, Goodluck Jonathan, but that it had not been accepted.
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Rilwanu Lukman left office on 17 March 2010 when acting president Goodluck Jonathan dissolved his cabinet.
24.
The EFCC accused Rilwanu Lukman of breaking Nigerian laws by approving a deal that he lacked authority to approve and engaged in, not doing due diligence on the company, which lacked legally required approvals from Nigerian government's relevant procurement agencies.
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Rilwanu Lukman was made a Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire in 1989 and Officer of the Legion d'honneur of France in 1990, as well as being conferred with the First Class rank of the Order of the Liberator from Venezuela.
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Rilwanu Lukman was the first African to be honoured with the Fellowship of the Imperial College, University of London.