Diezani Alison-Madueke says she would not have
been elected president of the Organisation of
Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), were it
not for President Goodluck Jonathan’s courage in
appointing her minister of petroleum resources.

Speaking on Wednesday at the end of the weekly
federal executive council (FEC) meeting presided
over by Jonathan, Alison-Madueke stated that her
proposals as OPEC president would ensure that
Nigeria doesn’t bear the brunt of the fall of oil prices.

She said it was time for Nigeria to be more
competitive.
“Nigeria has to be much more competitive at this
time and going into the future. We cannot continue to
do business as usual,” she said.

“We must ensure that we have the right enabling
parameters and indices in this country to attract the
right end-user markets, to attract the right end-user
demand for our products because they are so many
other countries that would be competing for those
end-user markers and to get that end-user demand.
“So we will have to seat down and reformulate our
entire approach over the next month or so, in fact
immediately, to ensure that we are in fact at the
cutting edge of competitiveness; we have to make
ourselves competitive in the market and we have to
ensure we are able to garner and take those end-
user markets.”
She described her emergence as OPEC president as
the result of President Goodluck Jonathan’s courage
in appointing a woman as minister of petroleum
resources.

“First of all, it wouldn’t have happened if the
president had not had the courage to appoint a
woman into the portfolio of Ministry of Petroleum
Resources, which meant that I now headed the
country’s delegation to OPEC.

“I must say that this was the daunting thing. It
happened about three and half years ago; I went into
a body which is completely male-dominated and
mostly Arab-dominated as well. But I have found that
they have come to respect me and respect Nigeria’s
voice over the last three years in OPEC very highly.

“The position of the presidency some years ago was
administratively made rotational but OPEC ensures
that it must still elect, therefore it states very clearly
that ‘we have elected’ Dieziani Allison-Madueke or
whoever happens to be the president for that year
into the position of the presidency of OPEC. And the
reason in the constitution is very clearly stated that it
is elected because it reserves the rights to reject any
minister, head of delegation or person put forward
by their country that OPEC feels is not of the right
capabilities and experience and level to seat as OPEC
president, because OPEC presidency is highly
influential and it is in fact a high ranked position to
that of the secretary-general of OPEC.”

“It is the OPEC president who seats as chairman of all
OPEC conferences at all times during that year. It is
the OPEC president who calls for extraordinary
meetings of OPEC, which will possibly happen in the
next quarter of next year if the downward trend in
crude prices continues amongst other things and
responsibilities that the presidency has today.”
Diezani Alison-Madueke, the first female to head the
body, acknowledged that her tenure for the next one
year would be a challenging one in the face of
dwindling oil prices.

“This is a very challenging time, as you know, for
OPEC and for the global crude oil wells as a whole.
Quite clearly, there has been a battle of wills
between certain OPEC countries, the big players and
certain non-OPEC countries who are big players in
the world crude oil production markets at this time.

“So it is a challenging time to take over as OPEC
president and our prayer, of course, is that we will be
able to stabilise the crude oil prices per barrel over
this period because it is critical.
She pointed out that many countries, both OPEC and
non-OPEC countries, are suffering immensely, citing
countries that have adopted austerity measures as a
means to cushion the effect of falling oil prices.

“Even as we speak, Venezuela has gone into austerity
measures and is now measuring food because they
were completely dependent on oil. Angola, Algeria,
Iran are all under duress as is Nigeria because it has
affected our budgetary benchmark. And even non-
OPEC countries like Russia who will not cut
production are already seeing a drop in the value of
their rubuck.

“As OPEC president, you will be the one who is
expected to call together the entire body at points
where they are critical impact in the market from the
price of the barrel and in this case the downward
trend of the barrel of oil.”

mistabiola:
Diezani Alison-Madueke says she would not have
been elected president of the Organisation of
Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), were it
not for President Goodluck Jonathan’s courage in
appointing her minister of petroleum resources.

Speaking on Wednesday at the end of the weekly
federal executive council (FEC) meeting presided
over by Jonathan, Alison-Madueke stated that her
proposals as OPEC president would ensure that
Nigeria doesn’t bear the brunt of the fall of oil prices.

She said it was time for Nigeria to be more
competitive.
“Nigeria has to be much more competitive at this
time and going into the future. We cannot continue to
do business as usual,” she said.

“We must ensure that we have the right enabling
parameters and indices in this country to attract the
right end-user markets, to attract the right end-user
demand for our products because they are so many
other countries that would be competing for those
end-user markers and to get that end-user demand.
“So we will have to seat down and reformulate our
entire approach over the next month or so, in fact
immediately, to ensure that we are in fact at the
cutting edge of competitiveness; we have to make
ourselves competitive in the market and we have to
ensure we are able to garner and take those end-
user markets.”
She described her emergence as OPEC president as
the result of President Goodluck Jonathan’s courage
in appointing a woman as minister of petroleum
resources.

“First of all, it wouldn’t have happened if the
president had not had the courage to appoint a
woman into the portfolio of Ministry of Petroleum
Resources, which meant that I now headed the
country’s delegation to OPEC.

“I must say that this was the daunting thing. It
happened about three and half years ago; I went into
a body which is completely male-dominated and
mostly Arab-dominated as well. But I have found that
they have come to respect me and respect Nigeria’s
voice over the last three years in OPEC very highly.

“The position of the presidency some years ago was
administratively made rotational but OPEC ensures
that it must still elect, therefore it states very clearly
that ‘we have elected’ Dieziani Allison-Madueke or
whoever happens to be the president for that year
into the position of the presidency of OPEC. And the
reason in the constitution is very clearly stated that it
is elected because it reserves the rights to reject any
minister, head of delegation or person put forward
by their country that OPEC feels is not of the right
capabilities and experience and level to seat as OPEC
president, because OPEC presidency is highly
influential and it is in fact a high ranked position to
that of the secretary-general of OPEC.”

“It is the OPEC president who seats as chairman of all
OPEC conferences at all times during that year. It is
the OPEC president who calls for extraordinary
meetings of OPEC, which will possibly happen in the
next quarter of next year if the downward trend in
crude prices continues amongst other things and
responsibilities that the presidency has today.”
Diezani Alison-Madueke, the first female to head the
body, acknowledged that her tenure for the next one
year would be a challenging one in the face of
dwindling oil prices.

“This is a very challenging time, as you know, for
OPEC and for the global crude oil wells as a whole.
Quite clearly, there has been a battle of wills
between certain OPEC countries, the big players and
certain non-OPEC countries who are big players in
the world crude oil production markets at this time.

“So it is a challenging time to take over as OPEC
president and our prayer, of course, is that we will be
able to stabilise the crude oil prices per barrel over
this period because it is critical.
She pointed out that many countries, both OPEC and
non-OPEC countries, are suffering immensely, citing
countries that have adopted austerity measures as a
means to cushion the effect of falling oil prices.

“Even as we speak, Venezuela has gone into austerity
measures and is now measuring food because they
were completely dependent on oil. Angola, Algeria,
Iran are all under duress as is Nigeria because it has
affected our budgetary benchmark. And even non-
OPEC countries like Russia who will not cut
production are already seeing a drop in the value of
their rubuck.

“As OPEC president, you will be the one who is
expected to call together the entire body at points
where they are critical impact in the market from the
price of the barrel and in this case the downward
trend of the barrel of oil.”


http://www.thecable.ng/diezani-opec-president-jonathans-courage

Alison-Madueke stated that
her
proposals as OPEC president would ensure that
Nigeria doesn’t bear the brunt of the fall of oil
prices.

kennygee:
We know this, it is not news.