OUTGOING Secretary-General, Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries, Muhammad Barkindo, has been buried in Yola, the capital of Adamawa State.
Barkindo, who died last night in Abuja, was buried at Damare Cemetery in Yola.
The corpse airlifted from Abuja was received by friends and family members at Yola International Airport around 12.30 pm amid tears.
Funeral prayer was performed at the Modibbo Adama Central Mosque located at the Palace of Lamido Adamawa at 4pm with dignitaries from Nigeria and Cameroon in attendance.
Dignitaries that attended the Janaza prayer include the FCT Minister, Muhammad Musa Bello, Minister of Transport, Muazu Sambo, Secretary to Adamawa State Government, Bashiru Ahmad and Lamido Adamawa, Dr Barkindo Aliyu Mustapha.
President Muhammadu Buhari said Nigeria has lost a huge asset.
The Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, Femi Adesina, disclosed this in a statement.
“The President pays tribute to the remarkable gentleman and enormous national asset, who from his youthful days worked meritoriously in the service of the nation in various national and international capacities, and never stopped being a beacon of light to the country he loved until his last breath,” the statement said.
“The President affirms that Barkindo’s undeniable brilliance and legacies as a dedicated public servant will remain a reference point in the oil and gas industry, international development, and the environment sector.
“The President recalls that his profound decency and mien greatly endeared him to Nigerians and other nationals who came in direct contact with him as a young Principal Administrative Officer with the Nigeria Mining Corporation; Special Assistant to the Minister of Mines, Power, and Steel, as well as Minister of Petroleum Resources; and later in his 24 years of service in the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation; Nigerian Delegate to OPEC Ministerial Conferences; Nigeria’s Governor for OPEC; and leader of Nigeria’s technical delegations to the climate change negotiations since inception in 1991 that produced the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and the Kyoto Protocol to the UNFCCC.”
President Buhari commended Barkindo’s leadership at OPEC, including during very turbulent times in 2016 and 2020, noting that the Declaration of Cooperation birthed under his watch helped strengthen and consolidate OPEC/non-OPEC cooperation and dialogue.
Adamawa State Governor, Ahmadu Umaru Fintiri, said he received the news with sadness, saying Adamawa had lost its proud son.
This was contained in a statement issued by his Press Secretary, Humwashi Wonosikou on Wednesday.
Extending his condolence on behalf of the people of Adamawa, Fintiri described the six years Barkindo spent at OPEC as glorious, praying that Almighty Allah grant him paradise.
He said, “I received news of the passing of Muhammadu Barkindo with sadness, the late Barkindo will be remembered as a respected son of Adamawa and OPEC family. His demise is a sad day for me and the people of Adamawa and Nigeria.”
