Maikanti Baru, the former group managing director of the NNPC, has died.
Dr. Baru died late Friday night, May 29, 2020 in yet undisclosed location and of undisclosed ailments. He was 60.
His death was announced early Saturday morning by the current head of the state-owned energy conglomerate, Mele Kyari.
“My brother, my friend and my mentor, Dr. Maikanti Kachalla Baru, immediate past GMD of NNPC died late last night,” the current NNPC GMD wrote on Twitter. “He was of exemplary character and disposition. May Allah forgive him and have mercy upon him.”
My brother, my friend and my mentor, Dr Maikanti Kachalla Baru, immediate past GMD of NNPC died late last night. He was of exemplary character and disposition. May Allah forgive him and have mercy upon him.
— Mele Kyari, OFR (@MKKyari) May 30, 2020
Dr. Maikanti Kachalla Baru was born in 1959 and led a career in engineering, rising through the ranks at the NNPC before he was eventually appointed to lead the organisation by President Muhammadu Buhari in 2016.
Baru’s tenure at the helm of the state-owned oil firm was marked by several corruption scandals running into billions of dollars.
President Buhari replaced Baru with Kyari in July 2019.
It was not immediately clear what caused his death or for how long he had been ill. Whether he passed on in Nigeria or overseas has also yet to be clarified as of press time.
