Building on its solid foundation as the premier source of credible, authoritative and fact-driven oil and gas information, the Editorial Management Board of Valuechain Group, publishers of the Valuechain Oil & Gas Magazine, has recorded yet another significant breakthrough with the creation of Valuechain Editorial Advisory Council and subsequent endorsements by individuals from a broad array of disciplines and endeavours to join the Council.
The new eight-member Editorial Advisory Council made up of seasoned, eminent and internationally recognised personalities, brings on additional expertise that spans the media and as from the Oil & Gas Industry to help steer the editorial direction of the fast-rising media conglomerate.
Collectively, they bring fresh perspectives and new areas of expertise in media and the oil & gas industry to Valuechain.
The Council members were carefully selected in recognition of their track record in the development of local content in the Nigerian oil and gas industry, and their potential influence to rally around the entire media landscape globally to advocate for better oil and gas industry.
Valuechain Magazine is an oil and gas niche monthly publication that was launched in Abuja, July 2018, and has since evolved into an established media group, with an online TV channel added to its stable. The media brand prides itself as the most authoritative energy news source in Nigeria.
The Editorial Advisory Council consists of HRH Alh. Aminu Ado Bayero, Emir of Kano as the Chairman; His Excellency, Dr. Mohammad S. Barkindo, Secretary-General, OPEC – Alternate Chairman; Mr. Hasan Hafidh, OPEC – Member; Prof. Wumi Iledare, GNPC Professor & Chair, Petroleum Economics & Management, CCU, Ghana – Member; Mrs. Omotayo Omotoso, Former DG, Nigeria Tourism Development Corporation – Member; Alh. Musa Bashir Usman, Group Publisher, Valuechain Group – Member/Secretary.
The role of the Editorial Advisory Council is mainly to guide, and provide input, suggestions and specialized technical and professional counsel to the media outfit. The Council Members will occasionally write and educate the magazine readers as Guest Columnists on some specific issues of interest within the oil and gas sector that can aid policy formulation, realignment, or inspire future leaders of the industry. In addition, the Chairman and Members of the Editorial Advisory Council will act as ambassadors of Valuechain magazine to the world, especially within the oil & gas community.
Profile of the Council Members
HRH Alh. Aminu Ado Bayero
Aminu Ado Bayero who is currently the Emir of Kano ascended the throne as the 15th Emir of Kano on the 9th of March 2020. He is the son of late Alhaji Ado Bayero the 13th Emir of Kano who reigned from 1963 till his death on 6th June 2014.
Aminu Ado Bayero attended Kofar Kudu Primary School in Kano Municipal and thereafter Birnin Kudu Secondary School in the present Jigawa State before he proceeded to Bayero University Kano where he obtained a degree in Mass Communication. He also studied at Aviation School Oakland in California, USA and did his National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) at Nigerian Television Authority (NTA) Makurdi, Benue State. After his national service, Bayero was employed by Kabo Air Limited.
The emir was turbaned as Dan Majen Kano and District Head of Dala Local Government in 1990. Aminu was later promoted to Dan Buran Kano and then named Turakin Kano. He was also Sarkin Dawakin Tsakar Gida of Kano before he was elevated to Wamban Kano. He was named the Emir of Bichi in 2019 after Kano State Governor Abdullahi Umaru Ganduje created four additional emirates in Kano.
H.E Mohammad Sanusi Barkindo
His Excellency, Mohammad Sanusi Barkindo is the current Secretary-General of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC). He began his tenure as Secretary-General on August 1, 2016, and was reappointed for a further three-year in 2019. His second term will expire in August this year.
An accomplished oil technocrat and veteran of OPEC, Barkindo has a vast wealth of experience in the oil and gas industry, both in Nigeria and internationally.
From 2009 to 2010, he was Group Managing Director of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC). Prior to that, he served as Deputy Managing Director of Nigerian Liquefied Natural Gas, a joint venture between NNPC, Shell, Total and Eni. Earlier in his career, he was Special Assistant to former Minister of Petroleum Resources and OPEC Secretary-General, H.E Dr. Rilwanu Lukman.
Barkindo also worked in several key roles at OPEC between 1986 and 2010. In 1986, he was appointed to Nigeria’s delegation to OPEC, and from 1993 to 2008, served as Nigeria’s National Representative on the Organization’s Economic Commission Board. In 2006, he served as Acting Secretary-General of OPEC, and represented Nigeria on OPEC’s Board of Governors from 2009 to 2010.
After earning a bachelor’s degree in Political Science from Ahmadu Bello University in Zaria, Mohammad Sanusi Barkindo went on to achieve a Postgraduate Diploma in Petroleum Economics and Management from the College of Petroleum Studies at Oxford University and a Master’s Degree in Business Administration from Southeastern University in Washington, DC.
He is also a holder of an Honourable Doctorate Degree in Science from Modibbo Adama University and Federal University of Technology, Yola.
He is a fellow member of various international petroleum institutions such as the Institute of Petroleum, London.
Since his assumption of office as Secretary-General, he has remained a leading voice in the quest for more OPEC and non-OPEC cooperation for stable oil markets on a sustainable basis.
Mr. Hasan Hafidh
Mr. Hasan Hafidh, an Iraqi national is currently the Head of the Public Relations & Information Department of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC). The Department is statutorily responsible for presenting OPEC’s objectives, decisions and actions in their true and most desirable perspective, contributing to the awareness of governments, national and international institutions and companies, as well as the general public, about OPEC and its activities, while presenting the OPEC Secretariat as a professional institution in the field of energy market data, analysis and projections.
Prof. Wumi Iledare
Professor Wumi Iledare (PWI) has over 35 years of technical, professional and academic experience in the global oil and gas industry. Currently serves as Ghana National Petroleum Corporation Chair in Oil and Gas Studies at the University of Cape Coast’s Oil and Gas Institute, Ghana. An Emeritus Professor of Petroleum Economics at Louisiana State University, Energy Studies, USA and Director, SPE Africa Region, 2019-Present, PWI is Chirota and Emmanuel Egbogah Distinguished Professor and former Director of Emerald Energy Institute, University of Port Harcourt, Nigeria (2013-2019).
An expert in international petroleum and fiscal systems economics and geopolitics and economics of oil and gas resources and supply, Iledare, who holds a BSc degree in Petroleum Engineering with honours from the University of Ibadan, Nigeria (1979); an M.S. in Energy Resources from University of Pittsburgh School of Engineering (1985); and a Ph.D. in Mineral Economics from West Virginia University (1990), served on the Nigeria National Assembly Technical Advisory Team on Petroleum Industry Reforms Bills (2016-2019).
He is a distinguished fellow and the immediate Past President of Nigeria Association for Energy Economics (NAEE, 2015-2019); a Senior Fellow and the 2008 President of United States Association for Energy Economics (USAEE); and the 2014 President of the International Association for Energy Economics (IAEE).
Iledare previously worked as petroleum/reservoir engineer for Shell Petroleum Development Company (SPDC) in Nigeria (1980-1983), and a reservoir/production engineer trainee with Mobil Producing Nigeria (1979-1980). PWI, as he is fondly called, has authored several works of literature on petroleum industry reform, and governance; including oil and gas economics and policy in Nigeria.
Mrs Omotayo Omotosho
Omotayo is a seasoned professional in the Sub-sectors of Culture, Tourism, Information and Social Development.
She holds a Bachelor of Social Science Degree in Psychology. Specializing in Communications Psychology, Omotayo trained as a TV broadcaster/Public Relations practitioner and Information Management expert. She trained as a Media Practitioner/Communication Professional in the field of Information Dissemination/Broadcasting and endowed with natural Communication skills.
She has had extensive experience working in the public sector. In August 2000, Omotayo Omotosho was appointed by the Federal Government of Nigeria as Director-General, Nigeria Tourism Development Corporation (NTDC). She has served as Chairman and Member of various government ad-hoc committees including as Chairman, Accommodation/Hospitality Committee of COJA All-Africa Games, Abuja in 2003.
She is a master of policy-based ceremonies, and her other interests include Investment promotion, Poetry/creativity, Small & Medium Scale Enterprises, Cultural-Tourism, Adventure/Eco-Tourism, Charity and Philanthropy.
She was conferred with the National Honours Award of Member of the Federal Republic, MFR in 2006 by the Federal Government of Nigeria, in recognition of her meritorious services to the Nation.
She is the Chief Executive of Pacesetters Communications Ltd, the Publishers of the book: From Want to Wealth, amongst others.
Musa Bashir Usman
Musa Bashir Usman is the Publisher, Valuechain Oil & Gas Magazine. He holds a BSc. in Economics from Bayero University Kano (BUK) and Postgraduate diploma from Ahmadu Bello University (ABU) as well as an MBA also from the BUK. He started his career in 2004 with the New Nigerian Newspapers in Kaduna as a Business Reporter, covering the oil and gas sector, particularly NNPC activities at that time when Engr. Funsho Kupolokun was the GMD. He later left NNN for Peugeot Automobile Nigeria (PAN) Limited as the company’s Public Relations Officer in 2006 from where he was elevated to the position of the Head, Corporate Communications in 2012.
He held the position for three years before he voluntarily resigned to private practice (media consultancy) in 2015. Usman is a member of the Nigerian Institute of Public Relations (NIPR), and the Advertising Practitioners Council of Nigeria (APCON)
It’s a privilege to serve – Emir of Kano, Sanusi Barkindo
In a letter conveying his appreciation and acceptance to serve as Chairman of the Editorial Advisory Council, the Emir of Kano, His Highness, Alhaji Aminu Ado Bayero assured of his support and cooperation to the attainment of the Council’s initiatives.
OPEC Secretary-General Mohammad Sanusi Barkindo also in a letter he personally signed to indicate his acceptance to serve as Alternate Chairman to the Council, said he was deeply humbled to be offered the position of the Pioneer Alternate Chairman and gratefully accepted the position.
“I would be honoured to contribute to such a reputable publication and serve alongside this distinguished Council. It is particularly a great privilege to serve alongside His Royal Highness, Alhaji Aminu Ado Bayero, the Emir of Kano, who will assume the position as the Pioneer Chairman of this Editorial Advisory Council.
I agree wholeheartedly that the last six years have been eventful and historic for the oil industry but all successes achieved have been a result of teamwork and a collaborative ethos,” he said.
He attributed the good working relationship OPEC has developed with the African oil and gas media in recent years to a two-way process and the professionalism and dedication of esteemed members of organizations such as Valuechain have enabled this successful relationship between OPEC and the African media to blossom.
“My six years as Secretary-General has reconfirmed my long-held conviction about the importance of reputable, informed and transparent reporting on the oil and gas industry. Valuechain magazine has made an important contribution in this regard since its launch in 2018. l am proud to associate myself with it and look forward to working with the entire team in the future.”
Reacting to their acceptance of the appointments, the Group Publisher, Valuechain Musa Bashir Usman said: “We are delighted to welcome these distinguished and globally revered individuals and thought leaders to the Council, and look forward to working with them. We are confident that they will add value to Valuechain in their various roles”.
