The Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries OPEC is set to hold a crunch meeting at Vienna on Friday 5th June, 2015, which has the capacity of changing the face of the economy of many countries including Nigeria. However, this parley will be held without their substantive President, the most maligned Nigeria's former minister of Petroleum Resources, Alison Diezani Madueke, who lost the lost her seat on 29th May, 2015, following the inauguration of Mr Muhammadu Buhari as the new president of Nigeria.
The 12 member organisation had elected Diezanni to lead the organisation with effect from January 2015, being then the Nigeria delegate to the organisation. Many had speculated that she spent billions of dollars to win the position in order to give her credibility in the international circles, in the face of unprecedented corruption allegations against her and her luxurious lifestyle of affluence in a country were over 50% percent of their graduates are unemployed, with people living with less than $1 a day.
But as fate will turn things, Peesident Goodluck Jonathan, whom people felt was staunchly behind Dieziani in all her exploit lost his reelection bid to a former military head of State, Muhammadu Buhari. This means her losing her moat cherish position of minister of petroleum resources and by implication President of OPEC.
I can assure you that this is not going to cause OPEC nightmare as they have an alternate Peesident in the person of Dr Mohammed Bin Saleh All Sada, minister of energy in Qatar because the meeting is expected to discuss oil price and its impact on economy. Al Sada, already voiced his support to increase the price to $100, immediately Venezuela, one of the founding members of OPEC, aired their frustration over the current price. Most Oil producing countries want the change but the problem seem now to lie in the shadow of Saudi.
The question is, in the absence of a substantive minister of petroleum resources, who will be Nigeria delegate to the all important meeting? Rumours have abided that President Buhari may act as the minister of the ministry considering the widespread corruption that has greeted the sector, where oil subsidy that was allegedly manipulated by profiteering oil marketers grounded the country before the inauguration. As we watch things unfold, it is most likely that the permanent secretary in the ministry, Jamila Shua'ra will represent Nigeria. But has she got the charisma to push for the change in price of oil? We will wait to hear from Vienna