Ahmed Dismisses Education Funding Allegations, Invites Full Investigation
Abuja, December 16, 2025 — The Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA), Engr. Farouk Ahmed, has dismissed allegations linking the financing of his children’s foreign education to corruption, describing the claims as misleading and driven by resistance to ongoing regulatory reforms in the petroleum sector.
In a statement issued on Tuesday, Ahmed said the accusations—particularly claims that he spent about $5 million on his children’s secondary education in Switzerland—were inconsistent with the facts and his documented income, adding that he welcomes scrutiny of his finances.
According to him, three of his four children benefited from merit-based scholarships covering between 40 and 65 per cent of tuition costs, while additional support came from education trust funds established by his late father before his death in 2018. Ahmed noted that the remaining costs were met from personal savings accumulated over more than three decades of public service.
He stated that his annual remuneration as NMDPRA chief executive, estimated at about ₦48 million including allowances, is publicly disclosed in the Authority’s audited reports, and that he has consistently filed asset declarations with the Code of Conduct Bureau since entering the civil service in 1991.
“I have nothing to hide,” Ahmed said, publicly authorising all educational institutions attended by his children to release relevant financial records to Nigerian investigative authorities.
Three Decades in Public Service
Ahmed traced his career in Nigeria’s petroleum sector to 1991, when he joined the former Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR) as a junior engineer through the civil service examination process. He said he rose through the ranks on technical merit, working across crude oil marketing, gas supply monitoring and downstream operations.
By 2012, he became General Manager, Crude Oil Marketing Division, overseeing the country’s most critical revenue stream during a period of volatile global oil prices. He was later appointed Deputy Director in 2015, at a time marked by fuel scarcity and pricing disputes, before his appointment as Chief Executive Officer of NMDPRA in 2021 following the enactment of the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA).
Ahmed said his mandate as CEO was clear: to implement the PIA with transparency, professionalism and without favour, even if such reforms disrupted entrenched interests.
Defence of Regulatory Decisions
The NMDPRA chief also addressed criticisms surrounding the Authority’s issuance of petroleum import licences, particularly for the first quarter of 2026. He rejected claims that the approvals amounted to “economic sabotage,” stressing that Section 7 of the Petroleum Industry Act obliges the regulator to ensure supply security and prevent fuel scarcity.
He argued that reliance on a single source of supply, regardless of ownership, poses significant risks to national energy security, insisting that import licences are issued strictly when domestic supply is insufficient.
Since 2021, Ahmed said, NMDPRA has introduced monthly supply reports, public data portals on licensing and pricing, depot-to-station tracking to curb product diversion, and uniform enforcement of fuel quality standards. He acknowledged that these measures have generated friction with operators accustomed to regulatory opacity and preferential access.
Call for Investigation
In a move he described as a demonstration of confidence in his record, Ahmed formally invited the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), the Code of Conduct Bureau, and the National Assembly to conduct comprehensive investigations into his finances, asset declarations and regulatory decisions.
He pledged full cooperation with any genuine, evidence-based inquiry, while cautioning against probes driven by commercial interests seeking regulatory concessions.
Stance on Reform
Ahmed maintained that he neither sought nor holds public office for personal enrichment, but to contribute to long-overdue reforms in Nigeria’s petroleum sector. He said personal attacks and allegations targeting his family would not deter him from enforcing the law.
“If the cost of regulatory independence is personal attacks and manufactured scandals, I accept that price,” he said.
The NMDPRA boss reaffirmed his commitment to transparency and regulatory independence, expressing confidence that his professional and financial records would withstand scrutiny and that the reforms being implemented would ultimately serve Nigeria’s long-term national interest.