Born On December 18th, 1958 in Delta state Nigeria, Dr. Emmanuel Ibe Kachikwu, Nigeria’s incumbent Minister of State, Petroleum Resources and immediate past Group Managing Director (GMD) and now, the Board chairman of the state-owned oil giant, Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) is an outstanding lawyer, reformist, academic, entrepreneur and oil industry management czar of international fame.
Determined to acquire western education at a tender age, Emmanuel Ibe started his elementary education at St. Peter’s Primary School, Ogwashi – Ukwu, Delta state from 1962 – 1967. Thereafter, he proceeded to St. Pius XTH Grammar School, Onicha-Ugbo, also in Delta State, the following year and completed in 1972. He also attended Edo College, Benin City between 1973-74 for his higher school certificate. Even at these early stages of learning, Emmanuel exuded astonishing brilliance and hard work among his peers, what he has sustained all through his adult life.
He studied Law at the University of Nigeria, Nsukka (UNN) from 1974-78 and came top of his class with a Second Class Degree (Upper Division) and spectacularly emerged as the best graduating student of the year. Emmanuel Ibe repeated the same feat during his call to the Nigerian Bar studies at the Nigerian Law School in 1979, with a First Class grade and best graduating student. He also cornered five out the seven top prizes at stake for the year.
From 1979 -1980, Dr. Kachikwu was at the Harvard University, where he bagged a Masters Degree in Law (LLM), specializing in Energy and Petroleum Law and Investment and still maintained his streak of excellence, graduating with distinctions. He stormed the Harvard Law School from 1980 -82 and obtained his Doctorate Degree, with specialization on Petroleum and Investment Law Strategies. He again repeated his accustomed culture, by effortlessly graduating with a distinction. Dr. Kachikwu was acclaimed as setting a rare best record of completing his Doctoral programme in Guinness Book standard of one year and six months in the Harvard Law School. And academic freak, Dr. Kachikwu also fetched a Higher Diploma (H.DIP.T.L) from Georgetown University, USA.
Dr. Kachikwu’s over 30 years experience at policy making levels in the Petroleum Industry, started with his appointment as the Chief Counsel and Head of Legal Department in Texaco Nigeria Limited; Texaco Overseas Nigeria Petroleum Company; Texaco Agro Industries Nigeria Limited. And for a decade, (1983 – 1992), Kachikwu superintended on the boards of the three companies in advisory capacity on Secretarial and Legal matters. And from 1984 -1994, he functioned as the General Counsel/Legal Adviser Texaco Nigeria and Texaco Overseas Petroleum Company.
Thereafter, Kachikwu veered into private investments. He established and managed the Flame Petroleum & Gas Co. Ltd; Intel & Data consultants Limited; True Tales Publications Limited (Publishers of Hints magazine) and Beverly Cops & Security Company Limited. It spanned from the period of 1992 to 2001 and he administered the companies in the capacity of Chairman & Chief Executive Officer. He also served as the General Counsel/Secretary to the Board of Mobil Producing Nigeria Unlimited in 2001 and soon soared higher to the position of Executive Director of the chain of ExxonMobil Group of Companies in 2003.
His excellent performance earned him elevation to the position of Executive Vice Chairman/General Counsel, ExxonMobil Companies in Nigeria and Oversight Counsel, ExxonMobil Companies in Africa by 2009. His responsibilities centered on enforcing compliance programs of ExxonMobil in Nigeria and advisory services on matters of adherence with compliance regulations and anti-corruption laws for the company in Africa.
His wealth of experience and vast knowledge on policy issues in the administration of the oil industry constituted an irresistible bait to the President of Nigeria, His Excellency, President Muhammedu Buhari who appointed him GMD/NNPC in August 2015. The oil industry management guru’s main briefs were to restructuring, strategizing, repositioning, entrenching the norms of accountability and transparency in the administration of the thoroughly degraded NNPC into a lucrative and revenue-generating investment platform for Nigeria, a position, he held from August 2015 to July 2016.
As the GMD/NNPC and later Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Dr. Kachikwu has effectively implemented reforms in the oil and gas sector such as the enthronement of the regime of a New Strategy for Funding the Joint Venture Cash Call; Liberalization of the Downstream Sector, facilitating the enhancement of Security in the Niger Delta and the Launch and Implementation of the Seven (7) Big Wins, otherwise known as “The Nigerian Petroleum Roadmap.” These policies have erased almost all of the entrenched hiccups in Nigeria’s oil and gas and imposed accountability, transparency, probity and arrested restiveness in the Niger Delta.
His performance necessitated his elevation to the position of the Minister of State, Petroleum Resources in November 2015 and doubles as Chairman, the Board of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), an appointment added to his responsibilities on 4th July, 2016, as stipulated by Section 1(2) of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation Act of 1997, as amended.
In spite of Dr. Kachikwu’s tight schedules, he dabbled into academics and was Director, Institute of Petroleum Law at the Afe Babalola University, Nigeria. He is also a Visiting Professor of Law to scores of universities including his alma mater, Harvard Law School, USA and Nigeria Law School. He parades a retinue of prestigious fellowships, including; Fellow, Society for Corporate Governance (FSCG); Fellow, Chartered Institute of Arbitration (FCIArb) and Fellow Chartered Institute for Petroleum Policy (FCIPP).
In further demonstration of Dr. Kachikwu’s flair for academics, he has authored several books on legal issues, which include; “Petroleum Industry Bill: Getting To The Yes”, “Legal Issues in the Petroleum Sector”, “Compendium of Oil and Gas Cases in Nigeria – Volume 1-4″, and “Corporate Foreign Investment in Nigeria: Issues of Law and Policy” among others. He has also authored several insightful articles, which include; “The Legal Status of Women”, “Customs of My People That Should be Enforced as Law”, “Master/Servant/Independent Contractor Distinction, A Thorny Problem of Industrial Tort”, Alien Exodus in Nigeria:Issues for ECOWAS Protocol”, “Extending the Frontiers of Constitutionalism: Should Constitution Contain Legal Rules Stricto Sensu?” and so forth.
Dr. Kachikwu, who is listed in the league of Who-is-Who in Africa, flaunts a catalogue of awards and recognitions within and outside Nigeria for his excellence, hard work and exceptional performance in all assignments and assigned duties’. These include; Certificate of Congressional Recognition by The United States Congress (2017), Oil Industry Leadership Award by the Petroleum Technology Association (PETAN) (2017) and he bagged the Times Heroes Life Impact Award by the Daily Times Newspapers (2017), Honorary Fellowship Award from the Nigerian Environmental Society (2017), Oil and Gas Industry Leadership Award – Petroleum Products Pricing Regulatory Agency (PPPRA) Branch of PENGASSAN (2016), the Nelson Mandela Pan-African Exemplary Leadership honour conferred by the African Youth Global Network (AYGN), NOPA Evergreen Icon Award (2012), and the Exemplary Leadership Award – PENGASSAN (2010).
Others are, the Humanitarian and Service to Humanity Award by JCC (2011), Distinguished Humanitarian Service Award – Ubulukwu Dev. Union (2012) Nigerian Role Model Award – NROMA (2010) and the Alma Mater Alumni Award for Exemplary Support, University of Nigeria Nsuka (2009).
Thus, in recognition of Dr. Kachikuw’s erection of a redeemer’s portrait in salvaging Nigerians through his record-breaking and relieving contributions in transparency, accountability, probity, profitability and integrity in the management of Nigeria’s oil and gas resources, Nigerians voted him enmasse, as the 2017 Minister of the Year of “The Nigerian”, a London-based on online news portal. Dr. Kachikwu trounced three other nominees in this category to hit the mark of first, his usual trademark in academics and decades of working career in the oil and gas industry.
Dr. Kachikwu, Nigeria’s Minister of State for Petroleum Resources is a titled Chief of his community and similarly honoured by various other communities in Nigeria with influential titles such as the “Isagba of Ezechime Clan” conferred on him by twelve (12) villages in Delta North; the Gbadegun of Owo, Owo Kingdom and Odogwu of Onicha-Ugbo. Dr. Emmanuel Ibe Kachikwu is happily married with children.
