The Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA), Engr. Farouk Ahmed, has rejected allegations of corruption levelled against him by billionaire industrialist Aliko Dangote, insisting that his finances are transparent and inviting anti-graft agencies to investigate him.
In a statement issued on Tuesday, Ahmed responded to renewed accusations concerning the funding of his children’s education abroad, which followed Dangote’s formal petition to the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) seeking his investigation and prosecution.
Ahmed said the claims, particularly that he spent millions of dollars on his children’s education in Switzerland, were misleading and failed to reflect the full facts. He explained that three of his four children benefited from merit-based scholarships covering between 40 and 65 percent of tuition costs, while additional funding came from family education trust funds established by his late father before his death in 2018.
He also stated that his personal contributions were drawn from savings accumulated over more than 30 years in public service, cooperative investments available to civil servants, and his lawful earnings as a regulator. Ahmed disclosed that his annual compensation as NMDPRA chief executive is about ₦48 million, a figure he said is publicly available in audited records.
The NMDPRA boss stressed that he has consistently filed asset declarations with the Code of Conduct Bureau since entering public service in 1991 and has authorised educational institutions attended by his children to release financial records to Nigerian investigators.
Ahmed linked the timing of the allegations to regulatory actions taken by the NMDPRA, including stricter enforcement of fuel quality standards, tougher licensing requirements, and policies aimed at increasing transparency in pricing and supply. He said these measures had disrupted entrenched interests within the petroleum sector.
Addressing criticism over the issuance of import licences for refined petroleum products, Ahmed said the agency was acting within its statutory mandate under the Petroleum Industry Act to ensure supply security and prevent fuel scarcity. He warned that reliance on a single source of supply, regardless of ownership, posed risks that no responsible regulator could ignore.
He maintained that since 2021, the NMDPRA has published regular supply data, subjected itself to external audits, improved fuel distribution monitoring, and enforced regulations without favour.
In a direct response to Dangote’s petition, Ahmed publicly invited the Code of Conduct Bureau, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, and the National Assembly to investigate his assets, income, and regulatory decisions throughout his career. He said he would cooperate fully with any inquiry, provided it was conducted professionally and without commercial or political bias.
The statement comes amid an escalating dispute between Ahmed and Dangote, who has accused the NMDPRA of corruption and of undermining local refining by approving fuel import licences despite claims that the Dangote Refinery can meet Nigeria’s domestic demand.
Ahmed concluded that while the reforms being implemented by the regulator have created friction with powerful interests, he would not be intimidated into abandoning what he described as his statutory duty to act in Nigeria’s long-term interest.