Delborough Lagos has announced the appointment of former Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Professor Emmanuel Ibe Kachikwu, as a member of its board of directors.

The appointment was confirmed during the company’s annual board meeting, chaired by His Royal Majesty, Obi of Onitsha, Nnaemeka Alfred Ugochukwu Achebe.

Kachikwu, a former president of the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and African Petroleum Producers’ Organisation (APPO), previously served as the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources and former Group Managing Director of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) and Executive Vice Chairman of ExxonMobil Africa. He also held the position of General Counsel for Texaco’s upstream and downstream operations in Nigeria.

He holds a First Class law degree from the University of Nigeria, Nsukka, where he was awarded best graduating student, and graduated with the same distinction from the Nigerian Law School. He later obtained master’s and doctorate degrees in law from Harvard Law School. He is currently a visiting professor at several international universities and consults for various African governments.

Also inaugurated was Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), Kelechi Nwaiwu, who joins the firm as Board Secretary.

The chairman stated, “The Delborough Lagos is the only corporate body with a Senior Advocate of Nigeria as Board Secretary.”

Other members of the board include Oba Abdulwasiu Omogbolahan Lawal, Usman Alkali Baba, Arc. Yemisi Suswam, Olajumoke Benson, Valentine Ozigbo, Matt Aikhionbare and Linus Idahosa.

Delborough Lagos was recently named Best New Luxury African Hospitality Brand by the Seven Stars Award.

Kachikwu, in an interview in September 2025, revealed that former President Muhammadu Buhari threatened to remove him as minister if attempts to adjust petrol prices during his tenure backfired.

Kachikwu, who spoke at a virtual mentorship programme organised by the Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board, recalled that the most urgent crisis he faced on assuming office as NNPC GMD in 2015 was nationwide fuel scarcity.

He said the queues persisted despite his efforts because subsidised petrol was being smuggled across Nigeria’s borders. “Despite my efforts, much of the subsidised product was leaving the country illegally, and my office did not have the political or security capacity to stop it,” he said.

According to him, he repeatedly asked Buhari to approve a price review but met stiff resistance. “He resisted very much because of his populist position. Eventually, he said, ‘Okay, you know what? I’ll leave you to take the risk. If it works, fine. If it doesn’t work, I fire you.’”

Kachikwu introduced a system he described as “price modulation”, which adjusted pump prices based on global market trends. He said the measure ended the subsidy and cleared petrol queues within 48 hours.

“That singular price adjustment removed the subsidy. Within 48 hours, every queue in the country disappeared. It never happened again until I left office,” he stated.

He also said he refused to authorise billions of naira in subsidy arrears claims because they lacked transparency. “We didn’t pay the arrears of subsidy because my position was that I could not audit the transparency of the subsidy claims,” he said.

Kachikwu added that although President Bola Tinubu’s removal of fuel subsidy was inevitable, the policy should have been accompanied by clear plans for refineries, infrastructure, transporters and oil-producing communities.