Mele Kyari, Rabiu Suleiman and Bello Rabiu have been frequently mentioned in the last weeks as front runners in succession to Maikanti Baru, Group Managing Director of Nigeria’s state hydrocarbon company, Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC).

Next month Mr. Baru, a career NNPC staff, turns 60, which is the mandatory retirement age.

Kyari is both the Group General Manager in charge of the influential Crude Oil Marketing Division of NNPC, as well as the country’s National Representative to the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC).

Suleiman is Group Executive Director at NNPC but currently on secondment to the Ministry of Petroleum Resources as Senior Technical Adviser Refineries, Gas & Power Infrastructure. He chairs the Ministerial Steering Committee (Steer Co) of the Nigerian Gas Flare Commercialisation Programme (NGFCP).

Rabiu is Chief Operating Officer, Upstream at NNPC. He joined the corporation in 1991 with a degree in Statistics, and has moved up rapidly, by NNPC standards, from senior planning officer through Technical Assistant to the GMD to Group General Manager, Corporate Planning& Strategy, the last job before the current position. He earned a Master’s degree in Petroleum Engineering from London’s Imperial College in 1998.

Kyari is a geologist by training. Suleiman joined the NNPC with a degree in Chemical engineering.