NMDPRA Boss Farouk Ahmed Denies $5m Corruption Claims, Cites Scholarships, Family Funds

The Chief Executive Officer, Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA), Engr. Farouk Ahmed, has firmly rejected recent allegations that he funded his children’s multimillion-dollar Swiss education through corrupt means, describing the claims as timed smears amid his agency’s regulatory reforms.

In a detailed personal statement released Tuesday, Ahmed attributed the accusations—centering on $5 million in school fees—to a mix of merit-based scholarships, late father’s education trust, and legitimate savings from three decades in public service, insisting his finances align with his official ₦48 million annual compensation.

Career Trajectory Under Scrutiny:

Ahmed traced his rise from a 1991 junior engineer in the Department of Petroleum Resources through competitive civil service exams to NMDPRA CEO in 2021, emphasizing decisions driven by “engineering precision” rather than politics.

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He highlighted roles in crude oil marketing during 2012 oil price crashes and downstream regulation amid 2015 fuel crises, framing his tenure as prioritizing national interest over personal gain.

Annual asset declarations to the Code of Conduct Bureau remain available, Ahmed said, publicly authorizing his children’s schools to release financial records to investigators.

Timing Linked to Reforms:

The NMDPRA boss suggested the allegations coincide with enforcement actions, including substandard product crackdowns, stricter import licensing under the Petroleum Industry Act, and transparent pricing—measures he defended as statutory duties to avert scarcity, not “economic sabotage”.

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“Since 2021, the agency has published monthly supply data, reduced fuel queues via tracking systems, and undergone international audits”, Ahmed noted, vowing no apologies for antagonizing opaque business models.

Call for Probes:

Ahmed invited probes by the Code of Conduct Bureau, EFCC, and National Assembly, pledging full cooperation while decrying potential bias from commercial interests. “I did not pursue this office for personal enrichment,” he stated, accepting “personal attacks” as the price of regulatory independence.

The statement arrives amid broader scrutiny of petroleum sector financing and imports, with social media amplifying unverified claims under Nigerian slang for “saner climes” rejecting illicit funds.

NMDPRA and investigative agencies had yet to comment at press time.