The Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and the Nigerian Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative have lauded Mr Mele Kolo Kyari’s appointment as NNPC boss.

The reaction of the organisations were made known in a statement signed by the NNPC spokesman, Mr Ndu Ughamadu.

President Muhammadu Buhari has on Thursday appointed Mr Kyari as the 19th Group Managing Director of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) alongside other Chief Operating Officers for the corporation.

His appointment is to take effect from July 8 after the retirement of the incumbent GMD, Dr Maikanti Baru.

Ughamadu noted that Baru also commended the President for the appointments and described them as well deserved for Kyari and others.

In a letter addressed to the new GMD, OPEC Scribe, Mohammed Sanusi Barkindo, said the appointment came as a testament to Kyari’s exemplary record and exceptional performance over the years in his illustrious career at the NNPC.

“You have earned the respect of your colleagues in OPEC’s Economic Commission Board (ECB) where you have conducted yourself with gravitas and greatly contributed to the discussions and decisions of this body,” Ughamadu quoted Barkindo as saying.

On his part, the Executive Secretary of NEITI, Mr Waziri Adio, described Kyari as a well known champion of transparency, who shared the principles which underline NEITI’s work and the global EITI on good governance of the oil and gas industry.

Adio said, “As a member of the global EITI Working Group on commodity trading transparency, Kyari’s appointment has placed him in a vantage position to push the frontiers of openness and to work more closely with NEITI and the global EITI.”