Tinubu meets NMDPRA boss Ahmed amid allegations of corruption by Dangote

Following an allegations of financial impropriety made by industrialist and President of the Dangote Group, Alhaji Aliko Dangote, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu on Wednesday evening met with the embattled Chief Executive of the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA), Farouk Ahmed, at the State House, Abuja.

The meeting came amid loggerhead between Dangote and Ahmed over downstream petroleum regulation and the future of domestic refining in Nigeria.

Dangote on Sunday at a press conference at the Dangote Petroleum Refinery, accused the NMDPRA, under Mr Ahmed’s leadership, of economic sabotage, alleging that regulatory actions were undermining local refining capacity, saying continued issuance of import licences for petroleum products was frustrating domestic refiners and deepening Nigeria’s reliance on fuel imports.

The billionaire industrialist further alleged that the regulator was colluding with international traders and petroleum importers to the detriment of local operators, accusations to which the NMDPRA has yet to publicly respond.

Mr Dangote also made personal allegations against the NMDPRA chief, claiming that Mr Ahmed was living beyond his legitimate means, alleging 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 concerns about 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.

He alleged that about $5 million was spent on the secondary education and upkeep of the children 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 them.

The controversy deepened on Tuesday when Mr Dangote, through his lawyer, Ogwu Onoja, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), petitioned the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC), calling for Mr Ahmed’s arrest, investigation, and prosecution.

In the petition addressed to ICPC Chairman Musa Aliyu, Mr Dangote alleged that the NMDPRA chief “spent without evidence of lawful means of income amounting to over $7 million for the education of his four children” in Switzerland.

The petition reportedly included the names of the children, the schools attended, and detailed figures for verification.

However, Ahmed, who arrived at the Presidential Villa at about 5:30 p.m. and left the President’s office after less than 30 minutes,declined to speak with journalists as he exited the State House and offered no comment on the allegations or the outcome of his meeting with President Tinubu.