In light of allegations of a financial scandal, a group affiliated with the Young Professionals Forum of Nigeria has demanded that the federal government promptly suspend Farouk Ahmed, the chief executive officer of the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPR).
Group coordinator Felicia E. Daniels made the demand on Monday at the NMDPRA headquarters in Abuja, claiming that serious and proven allegations of corruption, misuse of authority, regulatory compromise, and complete betrayal of the Nigerian people have tarnished Ahmed’s tenure.
The group claims that Ahmed was given the responsibility of leading a strategic agency established by the Petroleum Industry Act. They emphasise that the National Monitoring and Data Protection Agency (NMDPRA) was supposed to be the spearhead of reform in Nigeria’s petroleum industry, with the goals of increasing transparency, strengthening regulatory integrity, and safeguarding the long-abused interests of Nigerian citizens in the oil industry’s midstream and downstream portions.
Four of Ahmed’s children are presently being sponsored by wealthy international schools, and the protesting group has strongly implied that he has diverted over five million dollars ($5m) from his family’s finances.
The alleged misappropriation of more than $5 million in public monies by Engr. Ahmed to support his children’s lavish overseas education has thrust him into the focus of a huge financial scandal. Unpaid professors, crumbling dorms, and strikes plague Nigerian university students, while one public servant allegedly used our commonwealth to send his family to prestigious schools in India and Switzerland. Millions of Nigerians are struggling to put food on the table.
Faisal, Farouk Jr., Ashraf, and Farhana, his four children, attended some of the world’s most prestigious institutions. Establishments charging annual fees between $80,000 and $140,000? Privilège schools that are out of reach for the average citizen. Institutions of higher learning that are spatially and temporally disconnected from the everyday lives of ordinary Nigerians.
Institutions such as La Garenne International School, European University Montreux, Institut Le Rosey, and Aiglon College. It is believed that more than $5 million was spent on tuition, housing, maintenance, and flights during the years. These funds did not show up in Mr. Ahmed’s required asset disclosure forms because they went through proxy relatives, secret accounts, and unreported assets.
Quite frankly, this is immoral as well. There may be criminal charges. The rules are concise. Every asset owned by a public official must be disclosed. A public official’s impartiality can’t be jeopardised by whatever advantage they receive. No public servant has the right to utilise his or her position for personal gain or to steal from the public coffers. But here we are, confronted with indisputable proof to the contrary.
“We are also cognisant of the fact that Faisal, the son of Mr. Ahmed, was enticed to join Oando PLC, a firm that is directly subject to the regulatory authority of the NMDPRA. There is an obvious bias here. One entity that is regulated is Oando.
The individual responsible for overseeing the process is Engr. Ahmed. He should not have his son work for a corporation whose regulatory future is up to him. It is highly unlikely that this employment was unintentional, according to the circumstantial evidence. Undue influence probably helped make it happen. This can’t be tolerated. This cannot be excused. “This cannot be defended,” Daniel declared.
Additionally, the organisation made a passing reference to the fact that NMDPRA granted import permits for diesel with a sulphur content of up to 2,000 parts per million while Ahmed was in charge, which is forty times higher than the UN Environment Programme’s recommended and enforced level, as well as the standard in place in other African nations.
The poison is here. For our lungs, it’s poisonous. Environmentally, it poses a serious threat. For city inhabitants, inhaling toxic air daily is a death sentence. Despite this, no penalties were imposed. The importers of fuel were not prosecuted. We did not blacklist any companies.
That the regulator is now acting as a facilitator is what this data shows. That vested interests are being protected by the very agency that is supposed to be defending the lives of Nigerians. It has come to light that the NMDPRA chief is serving not Nigeria but rather his family, a tight-knit network of petroleum dealers, and himself.
He now represents everything that the Petroleum Industry Act set out to reform. Reform would be jeopardised if he remains in government. Encroachment on openness. A danger to any and all initiatives aimed at cleaning up the oil and gas industry in Nigeria. Accusations of regulatory compromise, theft, and abuse of office now inevitably come up whenever his name is mentioned.
You may hold the title, but the moral mandate is no longer with you; we are saying this to Mr. Ahmed straight. Resign immediately if you are a person of integrity. You ought to submit to an investigation if you hold a belief in fairness. It is time for you to move aside and let the truth emerge if you truly believe in Nigeria.
If you refuse to step down, the people of Nigeria must make it known that they will not tolerate your prolonged presence in our country. Nobody can make the NMDPRA a safe place for the powerful to get away with murder. “We will ensure that this matter is not left unattended,” the organisation further stated.