Tensions at the top cast doubt

摘要

Simmering tension between Nigerian oil minister Emmanuel Ibe Kachikwu and state-owned NNPC's managing director, Maikanti Kacalla Baru, has become a public spat, adding to uncertainty over the pace of much-needed reform. Kachikwu accused Baru of "insubordination" in a 30 August letter to President Muhammadu Buhari. The oil ministry calls the memorandum "normal procedural correspondence", aimed at "deepening transparency in the oil and natural gas sector for continued investor confidence". But the letter exposes a deep fracture at the top of Nigerian oil and gas decision-making.