NMDPRA CEO Farouk Breaks Silence, Welcomes Full Probe Over Education Funding Allegations

NMDPRA CEO Farouk Breaks Silence, Welcomes Full Probe Over Education Funding Allegations

The Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA), Engr. Farouk Ahmed, has issued a detailed public response to allegations concerning the funding of his children’s education, firmly denying any wrongdoing and calling for a comprehensive investigation into his finances and professional conduct.

In a statement released on Monday, Ahmed said the claims—particularly the allegation that he spent about $5 million on his children’s secondary education in Switzerland—require proper context rooted in his more than three decades of public service in Nigeria’s petroleum sector.

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Ahmed traced his career back to 1991, when he joined the then Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR) through the civil service examination process. He noted that he rose through the ranks on the basis of technical competence, serving in critical areas including crude oil marketing, gas supply monitoring, and downstream operations, before becoming General Manager of the Crude Oil Marketing Division in 2012 and later Deputy Director in 2015.

According to him, his appointment as CEO of the NMDPRA in 2021 came with a clear mandate to implement the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) reforms transparently and without favoritism, a task he said has inevitably created resistance from vested interests accustomed to regulatory opacity.

Addressing the education funding allegations, Ahmed said three of his four children benefited from merit-based scholarships covering between 40 and 65 percent of tuition costs. He added that additional support came from family education trust funds established by his late father, in line with cultural practices of collective family investment in education. Ahmed stressed that his own contributions were drawn from legitimate savings accumulated over decades of public service.

He disclosed that his annual compensation as NMDPRA CEO is approximately ₦48 million, as reflected in audited public records, and stated that he has consistently filed asset declarations with the Code of Conduct Bureau since entering public service. He also publicly authorized relevant educational institutions to release records of payments made on behalf of his children to authorized Nigerian investigators.

Ahmed suggested that the resurgence of the allegations coincides with recent regulatory actions by the NMDPRA, including stricter quality enforcement, transparent licensing, and supply security measures, which he said have disrupted entrenched interests in the downstream petroleum sector.

He rejected claims that recent import licensing approvals amount to “economic sabotage,” arguing that the Petroleum Industry Act mandates the authority to ensure fuel supply security and prevent scarcity. He warned against a single-source supply model, describing it as a vulnerability no responsible regulator should allow.

In a move he described as a demonstration of transparency, Ahmed formally invited the Code of Conduct Bureau, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, and the National Assembly to scrutinize his asset declarations, financial transactions, and regulatory decisions. He pledged full cooperation with any genuine, professional investigation.

Concluding his statement, Ahmed said he remains committed to regulatory independence and reforms that serve Nigeria’s long-term interests, even at personal cost. He maintained that his financial and professional records would withstand scrutiny and insisted he would not be pressured into compromising the mandate of the NMDPRA.

NMDPRA CEO Farouk Breaks Silence, Welcomes Full Probe Over Education Funding Allegations