ALHAJI Aliko Dangote, President of the Dangote Group, has formally called upon Nigerian authorities to initiate a comprehensive investigation into the financial affairs of Mr. Farouk Ahmed, Chief Executive of the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA).
The request follows Dangote’s allegation that Ahmed expended approximately five million United States dollars on the secondary school education of his four children at an institution in Switzerland.
Addressing a press conference on Sunday in Lagos, Dangote contended that such an expenditure appears incongruent with the legitimate earnings of a public service official. He argued that this disparity should warrant immediate scrutiny from relevant fiscal and anti-corruption bodies.
“When you examine his income, it does not align with the capacity to remit fees of this magnitude,” Dangote stated. “Even in my own case, a transaction of $5 million over six years for educational purposes would rightfully prompt tax authorities to conduct a thorough review of my financial records and tax compliance.”
The industrialist expressed profound concern over the perceived ethical and social implications of the allegation.
He highlighted the stark contrast between the purported multi-million-dollar expenditure and the severe economic hardships faced by many Nigerian families, particularly in the northern region, which includes Ahmed’s home state of Sokoto.
“In Sokoto, countless families are grappling to afford annual school fees of one hundred thousand naira, with many children deprived of education as a consequence,” Dangote observed.
“It is difficult to reconcile this reality with the claim that a lifelong public servant could finance $5 million in overseas school fees,” Dangote asserted.
He clarified that his call was specifically for an official inquiry, not for the immediate removal of the NMDPRA CEO, as he emphasised the necessity for accountability and transparency in public office.
“I am advocating for a proper investigation. He should be required to provide a full account of his actions and demonstrate that he has not compromised his regulatory duties,” Dangote said.
“This matter falls within the purview of the Code of Conduct Bureau or other designated agencies. Should a denial be issued, I am prepared to pursue all necessary legal avenues to compel the disclosure of relevant financial records from the institutions in question,” he stressed.
Expanding on his remarks, Dangote contextualised his allegations within broader concerns about the nation’s downstream petroleum sector.
He alleged that entrenched interests are benefiting from ongoing fuel imports, a practice he described as detrimental to national economic development and counterproductive to long-standing goals of domestic refining and value addition.
“The current volume of permitted imports is, in my view, unethical and constitutes a disservice to Nigeria’s economic interests,” he asserted.
Dangote concluded by stressing the fundamental principle of separating regulatory oversight from commercial interests, warning that the sector’s integrity is at stake.
“The downstream sector must not be undermined by personal interests. A trader should never function as a regulator,” he stated, adding: “The issuance of numerous licenses without corresponding investment in new refinery capacity indicates an environment that is not conducive to growth, largely due to these conflicting influences.”
As of this reporting, Mr. Farouk Ahmed and the NMDPRA have not issued a public response to the allegations; just as the relevant anti-corruption agencies challenged to carry out the investigation on Mr Ahmed have yet made any public response.
