President Bola Tinubu on Wednesday held a meeting with Farouk Ahmed, Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA), at the Presidential Villa, Abuja, against the backdrop of escalating allegations by industrialist Aliko Dangote against the petroleum regulator.
Mr Ahmed and Mr Dangote, Africa’s richest man and chairman of Dangote Cement and Dangote Industries Limited, have in recent days been locked in a public dispute over Nigeria’s downstream petroleum regulation and the future of domestic refining.
On Sunday, Mr Dangote accused the NMDPRA leadership, headed by Mr Ahmed, of economic sabotage, alleging that regulatory actions were undermining local refining capacity in Nigeria.
Speaking at a press conference at the Dangote Petroleum Refinery, he claimed that the continued issuance of import licences for petroleum products was frustrating domestic refiners and entrenching dependence on imports.
Mr Dangote further alleged that the NMDPRA was colluding with international traders and oil importers to the detriment of local operators, a charge the regulator has yet to publicly address.
The businessman also raised personal allegations against the NMDPRA chief, claiming that Mr Ahmed was living beyond his legitimate means.
He alleged that four of Mr Ahmed’s children attend secondary schools in Switzerland at costs running into several millions of dollars, arguing that such expenditure raised questions about potential conflicts of interest and the integrity of regulatory oversight in the downstream petroleum sector.
On Monday, Mr Dangote escalated the claims, accusing Mr Ahmed of corruption and misappropriation of public funds, and providing estimates of the costs allegedly incurred on his children’s education abroad.
He claimed that about $5 million was spent on secondary education and upkeep over six years, with an additional $2 million on tertiary education, including an alleged $210,000 for a 2025 Harvard MBA programme for one of Mr Ahmed’s children.
The controversy deepened on Tuesday when Mr Dangote, through his lawyer, Ogwu Onoja, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), submitted a petition to the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC), calling for Mr Ahmed’s arrest, investigation and prosecution.
The petition, addressed to ICPC Chairman Musa Aliyu, alleged that Mr Ahmed “spent without evidence of lawful means of income amounting to over $7 million for the education of his four children” in Switzerland, and reportedly included the names of the children, the schools attended and specific figures for verification.
Mr Ahmed, who arrived at the Presidential Villa about 5:30 pm, left the President’s office after less than 30 minutes and declined to speak with journalists as he exited the State House, offering no comment on the allegations or the outcome of his meeting with President Tinubu.
Neither the Presidency nor the NMDPRA has issued an official statement on the allegations as of press time. The purpose and outcome of President Tinubu’s meeting with the NMDPRA chief were also not disclosed.
