Nigeria: The Politics of an Energy Dispute

Divisions between Nigeria's ruling party and the country's state-owned energy company were exposed this week. Details of a dispute have surfaced between Nigerian Oil Minister Emmanuel Ibe Kachikwu and Nigerian National Petroleum Corp. (NNPC) Managing Director Maikanti Baru. In a leaked letter dated Aug. 30, Kachikwu wrote to Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari complaining that Baru was making high-level appointments and decisions about the national energy company without consulting the petroleum ministry. Kachikwu, who is also the chairman of the board for NNPC, went on to criticize Baru for not notifying the board of the changes. Kachikwu also accused Baru of awarding lucrative contracts without consulting the relevant transparency boards....