Minister Appoints Perm Secretary As Nigeria's Governor For OPEC
ABUJA, Sept 19, (THEWILL) - The Minister of Petroleum Resources, Mrs. Diezani Alison-Madueke, has appointed the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry, Engr. Goni Musa Sheikh, as Nigeria’s Governor for the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries, OPEC.
In a letter to the Secretary General of OPEC dated 13th September, 2010, the Minister stated: "Following the retirement of Mr. Mohammed Sanusi Barkindo from the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), I am pleased to inform you of the appointment of Engr. Goni Musa Sheikh as Nigeria’s Governor for OPEC."
The new OPEC Governor, Engr. Sheikh, was born on 3rd September, 1956. He had his secondary school education at Government Secondary School, Maiduguri, Borno State, where he graduated with distinction (Grade One) in 1975.
After a stint at the Ahmadu Bello University School of Basic Studies in Zaria where he passed his A-Levels in flying colours, Sheikh proceeded to the Camborne School of Mines, University of Exeter, England for a degree in Minerals Engineering. He graduated with a Second Class, Upper Division in 1979.
He did his National Youth Service from August 1979 to July 1980 at the Consolidated Tin Mining Company Limited, Bukuru, Plateau State, and later went to the Imperial College, University of London, where he bagged a M.Sc. in Mineral Process Design Engineering in 1982.
Engr. Sheikh worked as a Mining Engineer 1 with the Nigerian Mining Corporation (NMC), Jos, and rose to become General Manager/Chief Executive, Nigeria Kaolin Limited (a subsidiary of NMC) and General Manager, Corporate Infrastructure and Projects, NMC, in 2000.
In October 2000, he was appointed Executive Secretary of the Bitumen Project Implementation Committee. He was later appointed Senior Technical Assistant to the Minister of Mines and Steel in 2006 and was appointed Director (Mines Inspectorate) from January 2007 to June 2008.
On 14th June, 2008, he was appointed Director, Mining Cadastre Department, Ministry of Mines and Steel, and was promoted to the post of Permanent Secretary of the Ministry on 17th February, 2010.
He was deployed to the Ministry of Petroleum Resources as Permanent Secretary on 8th July, 2010 where he is responsible for general administration of the Ministry as well as well as Chief Adviser to the Minister.
Engr. Sheikh, a member of several professional bodies, is married with children.