Dr. Omar Farouk Ibrahim
Secretary General, African Petroleum Producers’ Organisation (APPO)
Dr. Omar Farouk Ibrahim is the Secretary General of the African Petroleum Producers’ Organisation (APPO), a position he has held since January 2020. He previously served as Adviser on International Energy Relations to four successive Nigerian Ministers of Petroleum Resources from 2009 to 2020. In this capacity, he represented Nigeria on the executive boards of key intergovernmental bodies, including as OPEC Governor and Executive Board Member at the Gas Exporting Countries Forum (GECF). He also coordinated Nigeria’s participation in the International Energy Forum (IEF) and APPO.
Earlier, Dr. Ibrahim was Group General Manager of Public Affairs at the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), and before that, Head of PR and Information at the OPEC Secretariat in Vienna. He led the OPEC Bulletin and Energy Review as Editor-in-Chief and Executive Editor between 2003 and 2010.
Before joining the energy sector, Dr. Ibrahim had a prominent media career, serving as Managing Director of the New Nigerian Newspapers and holding senior editorial and executive roles at the Daily Times of Nigeria. He began his professional journey in academia as a Lecturer in Political Science at Bayero University.
Dr. Ibrahim holds a PhD in Political Science from Rutgers University, USA; a Master’s from Bayero University; and a Bachelor’s from Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria. He has several publications to his name.