Groups: Dangote’s Graft Claims Against Downstream Authority CEO Must Be Probed

Civil society groups in the country have demanded a federal probe into corruption allegations levelled by the Dangote Group President Aliko Dangote against the chief executive officer of the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA), Farouk Ahmed.

Recall that Dangote raised the alarm that Nigeria’s continued reliance on fuel imports was harming local production and discouraging investment in domestic refining.

He disclosed that import licences covering approximately 7.5 billion litres of PMS had, reportedly, been issued for the first quarter of 2026, despite the availability of significant domestic refining capacity.

According to him, modular refineries are already struggling under the current policy environment and on the brink of extinction, while the persistent issuance of import permits further weakens the sector.

Dangote had also called for the NMDPRA boss’s probe by the Code of Conduct Bureau over allegations of sending his children to secondary school in Switzerland.

“The Code of Conduct Bureau (CCB) or any other body deemed appropriate by the government, can investigate the matter. If he denies it, I will not only publish what he paid as tuition in those secondary schools, but I will also take legal steps to compel the schools to disclose the payments made by Farouk.

“I am not calling for his removal, but for a proper investigation. He should be required to account for his actions and demonstrate that he has not compromised his position to the detriment of Nigerians.

What is happening amounts to economic sabotage,” Dangote said.

He alleged that Ahmed paid as much as $5 million in tuition fees for his children’s secondary education in Switzerland, questioning how many Nigerians can afford such costs.

“I sent my own children to secondary schools here in Nigeria. How many Nigerians can afford to pay $5 million for secondary school tuition, not university education? In his home state of Sokoto, many parents are struggling to pay as little as N10,000 in school fees.”

Reacting to these allegations the head of Transparency International (Nigeria), Auwal Musa Rafsanjani in an interview with LEADERSHIP said the allegations should not be brushed over but taken seriously by the concerned authorities.

“Dangote has raised a very serious fundamental question around the fact that some public officials are not living within their means of livelihood. And it’s now left for the Nigerian government to check the code of conduct, I mean, to check the asset declaration of this officer. Because if the code of conduct has been very effective and efficient, they would have been able to track people who are living above their means.

“If this allegation is investigated and it is true, then it is an indictment to the Nigerian authority that in the mix of poverty and in the mix of this crisis that Nigerians are going through, an individual will use that large chunk of money to take his children to school. And that is why public institutions are killed, are destroyed, because people, they always use public tax payers money to take their children abroad.

“So, for me, what Dangote has done is exactly what many Nigerians have been thinking about to ensure that we have some kind of sanity in financial institutions and also how government officials operate. So, let the government investigate this allegation. That’s my view on this,” he stated.

Dangote Allegations: EFCC, ICPC Yet To Receive Petition Against NMDPRA Boss
Following the call for the probe of the NMDPRA chief, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) is yet to get an petition calling for the probe.

LEADERSHIP investigation revealed that the EFCC and the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Crimes Commission (ICPC) have just read of the allegations in the media while there is no formal petition yet from any individual or groups calling for probe.

However, sources within the antigraft agencies revealed that even if there are no formal petitions, the agencies are empowered to go and investigate allegations made through any channel.
According to the sources, “we don’t need to get a petition to investigate allegations especially when it has been made in the public space. One of the sources of our cases for investigation is also the media.

So, the commission can investigate issues already raised in the public space like the media”.
Meanwhile, an energy expert and President of the Nigeria Consumer Protection Network, Kunle Olubiyo has described the reported sum as enormous, stating that such an amount could comfortably be used to establish a modular refinery in Nigeria.

He said “That is humongous. That amount can conveniently establish a functional modular refinery in Nigeria.”

Olubiyo further urged relevant anti-corruption agencies to thoroughly investigate the allegations made by Dangote against Ahmed in the interest of transparency and accountability.

Sheath Your Swords, We’ll Sort Things Out, Reps Tell Dangote, NMDPRA

The House of Representatives has resolved to stop the hostility between Dangote Refinery and the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA), evident by allegations and counter-claims involving the two entities.

The House Joint Committee on Petroleum Resources (Downstream and Midstream) chaired by Hon. Ikenga Ugochinyere and Hon.Henry Okogie disclosed this after an emergency meeting of the committee, convened, following what they described as “growing tension” capable of undermining the fragile stability recently achieved in the sector with concerns been by different stakeholders.

The joint panel invited the warring parties to appear before it for mediation and asked them to cease all media Hostilities pending the outcome of the committee’s investigation coming up in few days.

The joint committee said it was compelled to act swiftly to prevent further escalation, especially at a time when government and industry stakeholders are working to stabilise supply, pricing and regulation in the post-subsidy era.

“The key issue that necessitated this emergency meeting was the growing tension that has returned to the downstream sector as a result of concerns and allegations raised by Alhaji Aliko Dangote against the NMDPRA,” Ugochinyere said.

He added:“This is coming at a time when the committee is jealously guarding the stability that has been achieved in the sector.”

The downstream House committee chairman said the lawmakers resolved to formally invite both the President of the Dangote Group, Alhaji Aliko Dangote, and the leadership of the NMDPRA to appear before it and provide detailed explanations on the issues fueling the dispute in order to find a way out of the disturbing situation.

The lawmaker explained that only a clear understanding of the underlying problems would enable the National Assembly to broker lasting solutions without fear or favour.

“We can only find sustainable solutions when we identify the critical issues leading to this tension. That is why the committee resolved to write to Alhaji Aliko Dangote and the NMDPRA chief to meet with us and give insights into what is driving these allegations and counter-allegations.

“We resolved to plead with the contending parties to cease fire, especially media comments, so that the situation does not escalate further. The committee has the capacity to wade into this matter and find solutions once and for all,” Ugochinyere noted.

He revealed that the committee has already received petitions touching on critical industry concerns, including the issuance of import licences and questions around whether domestic refineries have the capacity to meet Nigeria’s daily petroleum needs.

“These are serious issues. Some relate to import licences, others to whether local refineries can produce enough to satisfy national demand which the investigation been undertaken by the committee will resolve” he said.

Ugochinyere stressed that all outstanding matters would be thoroughly examined when key stakeholders in the refining and regulatory space appear before the committee.

“By the time Alhaji Aliko Dangote, the NMDPRA and other stakeholders meet with the committee, we will get the real gist of what is happening and come up with resolutions that provide sustainable solutions for the sector,” he assured.

Reiterating the committee’s appeal, the chairman urged all parties to suspend further accusations while the House works to resolve the dispute in the national interest.

“We are pleading with them to cease further attacks on each other, whether from the regulatory agency or the refining community,while the committee sorts out these issues,” he said.

Ugochinyere said the decisions announced reflected the unanimous outcome of the committee’s closed-door deliberations, a position he said was affirmed by his colleagues.

SOURCE: LEADERSHIP NEWS PAPER