Africa’s richest man and President of the Dangote Group, Aliko Dangote, has accused the Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA), Engr. Farouk Ahmed, of corruption and economic sabotage. Dangote alleged that the regulator approved large volumes of petrol imports that undermine local refining, while also claiming that Ahmed spent about $5 million on school fees for his children in Switzerland, an amount he said could not be explained by a public servant’s income.
Dangote made the allegations during a press briefing in Lagos, where he spoke on challenges facing Nigeria’s downstream petroleum sector and the operations of his company’s refinery. The Dangote Petroleum Refinery, located in Lekki, Lagos, has a capacity of 650,000 barrels per day and is one of the largest single-train refineries in the world. The refinery is regulated by the NMDPRA, the same agency headed by Ahmed.
At the centre of Dangote’s claims is the allegation that the NMDPRA boss spent huge sums on foreign education for his children. According to Dangote, Ahmed allegedly paid about $5 million over six years to send four of his children to elite secondary schools in Switzerland.
“The regulator put four of his children through elite secondary schools in Switzerland and paid tuition fees of $5 million over a six-year period,” Dangote said. “However, his income as a public servant does not match his ability to pay those fees.”
Dangote questioned how a career public officer could afford such expenses and called on anti-corruption agencies to investigate. He specifically asked the Code of Conduct Bureau (CCB) to look into Ahmed’s declared income and assets to determine whether they align with the alleged spending.
“He has worked all his life in the public sector, so how did he make such an amount of money to educate his children overseas and pay such a huge amount of money?” Dangote asked. “Let the legal process take its place.”
The billionaire businessman said the issue goes beyond personal spending and touches on national interest. He accused the NMDPRA leadership of actions that he said are damaging Nigeria’s economy, especially the downstream oil sector.
According to Dangote, the regulator has continued to issue large import licences for refined petroleum products, despite the existence of growing local refining capacity. He alleged that import licences covering about 7.5 billion litres of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS), also known as petrol, were issued for the first quarter of 2026.
Dangote said such approvals discourage local production and force domestic refiners to struggle in an uneven market.
“The downstream must not be destroyed by one person for personal interest,” he said. “The NMDPRA issued a reckless amount of licences for petrol imports to the tune of 7.5 billion litres for the first quarter of 2026.”
Nigeria has for decades depended heavily on imported petrol due to poor performance of state-owned refineries. This reliance has cost the country billions of dollars annually and exposed it to fuel scarcity and price shocks. The Dangote Refinery was built to help reduce imports, save foreign exchange, and create jobs.
Since the removal of petrol subsidy in 2023, the downstream sector has gone through major changes, with market forces playing a larger role in pricing and supply. However, local refiners have repeatedly complained about policy uncertainty and what they see as unfair competition from imported products.
Dangote argued that continued petrol imports make it difficult for local refineries to compete, especially when imported fuel benefits from incentives or pricing advantages.
He also disagreed with recent figures released by the NMDPRA on the performance of his refinery. Last week, the regulator said the Dangote Refinery supplied an average of 23.52 million litres of petrol per day in November, which it said was below the planned supply of 35 million litres daily for the domestic market.
Dangote rejected this claim, saying the figures only reflected what was evacuated from the refinery, not the total amount produced.
“There is more than enough to supply the market,” he said. “What they are reporting is evacuation, not production.”
He explained that distribution challenges, storage issues, and market factors affect how much fuel leaves the refinery daily, but that production capacity is higher than what the regulator suggested.
Dangote further claimed that regulatory actions and uncertainty have scared away foreign investors from Nigeria’s downstream sector.
“Very few foreigners are operating in Nigeria’s downstream sector because of corrupt practices and regulatory uncertainty,” he said.
Calling again for an investigation, Dangote said Ahmed should not be allowed to continue in office without scrutiny. He stressed that public officers must be accountable, especially in a country where many citizens struggle to meet basic needs.
“He must not compromise his government job at the cost of Nigerians,” Dangote said. “When a lot of people cannot pay N100,000 school fees in Sokoto State, where he comes from, we are talking about $5 million spent on education abroad.”
Dangote added that even as a businessman, he claimed he would find it difficult to afford such spending.
“I will not be able to afford sending four of my kids to school abroad for six years for $5 million in Switzerland,” he said.
As of the time of this report, Engr. Farouk Ahmed and the NMDPRA had not publicly responded to the allegations. No official statement has been issued to confirm or deny the claims regarding school fees or the approval of import licences.
The accusations have already sparked debate in policy and business circles, with many calling for transparency and an independent investigation. Analysts say the dispute highlights deeper tensions in Nigeria’s oil and gas sector, particularly the balance between regulation, private investment, and national economic goals.
For now, Dangote insists that his concerns are about protecting Nigeria’s economy and ensuring fairness in the downstream sector. He maintains that regulatory authorities must support local production rather than actions that could weaken it.