The dispute in Nigeria’s downstream petroleum sector intensified on Sunday as President of the Dangote Group, Alhaji Aliko Dangote, accused the Chief Executive of the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA), Farouk Ahmed, of allegedly spending about $5 million on the secondary school education of his four children in Switzerland.
Dangote, who made the allegation during a press briefing at the Dangote Petroleum Refinery in Lekki, Lagos, called for a thorough investigation and demanded that Ahmed publicly account for the source of the funds, describing the alleged conduct as economic sabotage.
According to the billionaire industrialist, the reported expenditure is inconsistent with the income of a public official and raises serious ethical and accountability concerns.
“I’ve had people complain about a regulator who sent his four children to secondary school abroad,” Dangote said. “The education of those children for six years allegedly cost $5 million. This is something that must be explained.”
He argued that even private individuals would face scrutiny for such spending, noting that tax authorities would ordinarily question the source of funds for payments of that magnitude.
Dangote contrasted the allegation with the realities faced by ordinary Nigerians, particularly in northern parts of the country, where many families struggle to pay modest school fees.
“In places like Sokoto, people are unable to raise N100,000 for school fees, and children are staying out of school. Yet a career public servant is allegedly paying $5 million for secondary education,” he said.
While stressing that he was not calling for Ahmed’s removal, Dangote insisted that the matter required investigation by the Code of Conduct Bureau or other relevant agencies to protect public trust and investor confidence.
“If he denies it, I will publish the fees paid to those schools and take legal steps to compel disclosure of the payments,” Dangote added.
He also renewed his criticism of the regulatory environment in the downstream oil sector, accusing entrenched interests of undermining local refining in favour of fuel imports.
According to him, continued large-scale importation of refined petroleum products is harmful to national development, especially when domestic refining capacity is available.
“There are powerful interests that benefit from imports. That is why, despite 47 refinery licences being issued, none is taking off. The environment is simply not conducive,” he said.
Dangote warned against a situation where regulators are influenced by commercial interests, arguing that such overlap erodes confidence and damages the integrity of the sector.
“A trader should not be a regulator. The downstream sector must not be sacrificed to personal interests,” he said.
He maintained that Nigerians would ultimately benefit from domestic refining, even if fuel importers incur losses, adding that his refinery was working to ensure that reductions in gantry prices translate to lower pump prices nationwide.
The allegation revives similar claims made in July by a protest group, which the NMDPRA dismissed at the time as a coordinated smear campaign based on false allegations.
Contacted on Sunday, the NMDPRA spokesman, George Ene-Ita, declined to respond, saying simply, “No comment for now.”
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