Buhari to head Ministry of Petroleum for 18 months

By Ameh Comrade Godwin – August 10, 2015

There are indications that President Muhammadu Buhari would head the Ministry of Petroleum for 18 months before appointing a substantive minister for the ministry.

Punch quoted the President as making this known during a recent meeting with some members of his political party, the All Progressives Congress, APC, in Abuja.

One of the party men, who was at the meeting, told the news medium in Abuja on Sunday, that the President said he would use the one and a half years of heading the sensitive ministry to clear its rot.

According to him, “At the meeting we had recently, we discussed the issues of portfolios and other matters; the President said he was going to handle the Ministry of Petroleum himself for about 18 months.

“He said it was after this that he would appoint a substantive minister for the ministry. He said he would only personally handle the reorganisation of the much-important ministry.

“Besides, he said the ministry needed to be reformed and be rid of corruption. He promised to sanitise the ministry.”

According to the report, the President was thinking of appointing an experienced person as his special adviser on petroleum.

Reacting to the development, the Deputy National Publicity Secretary of the party, Alhaji Ibrahim Jalo, said it was too early to speculate if the president would assume leadership role in the oil sector.

Jalo said he was only sure that the President was going to split the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation.

Jalo said, “That Buhari is going to head the ministry is speculative. But what we know, going by his body language and actions so far, is that he is going to split the NNPC.

“This is what we know. So, let’s wait and see what he’s going to do before we make comments”.
– Dailypost