By Gabriel Ameh
Human rights activist and convener of Concerned Nigerians, Deji Adeyanju, has called on anti-corruption agencies to urgently investigate allegations that the Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA), Farouk Ahmed, spent about $5 million on his children’s secondary education in Switzerland, even as he warned the Federal Government not to yield to what he described as Aliko Dangote’s attempt to blackmail the system into granting monopoly control of Nigeria’s oil sector.
Adeyanju, reacting to the escalating dispute between Africa’s richest man and the petroleum regulator, said the controversy raises serious questions about integrity, accountability and market control in Nigeria’s oil and gas industry.
“If true, there is no credible explanation as to how a public officer could lawfully sustain such an expenditure from earnings in public service,” Adeyanju said, urging the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and other relevant agencies to immediately investigate the claim.
However, the activist cautioned Nigerians against mistaking the dispute for a patriotic intervention by Dangote. According to him, the billionaire businessman’s grievances are rooted not in the public interest but in resistance to regulations that prevent market dominance.
“This controversy does not suddenly make Dangote a social crusader. This is about control and monopoly. His real problem is not regulation, but regulation that stands in the way of his dominance in an oil sector he only recently entered,” Adeyanju stated.
He warned the Federal Government against weakening state authority under the pressure of public sentiment or economic influence, insisting that regulators must be protected so long as they act within the bounds of the law.
Adeyanju noted that Nigeria’s petroleum sector is guided by the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA), which promotes a willing buyer–willing seller framework and a competitive free market, not private sector absolutism. He argued that any attempt to undermine this framework threatens both consumer choice and fair competition.
Questioning pricing practices at the Dangote Refinery, Adeyanju said it was illogical that petroleum products refined locally in Ibeju-Lekki are reportedly more expensive than fuel imported from countries as far away as Argentina or Brazil.
“If Dangote truly wants Nigerians to patronise locally refined products and reduce fuel importation, he should lower prices,” he said, adding that there are also contestable allegations by consumers that some of the products are sub-standard.
Adeyanju stressed that no one compelled Dangote to build a refinery of such scale and that investment risks must not be transferred to Nigerians through higher prices or restricted market options.
“Patriotism does not mean Nigerians should buy less and pay more simply because products are produced locally,” he said.
He concluded by calling for a holistic federal investigation into the dispute, noting that the conflict between Dangote and the NMDPRA boss has been simmering for some time.
“At this point, the Federal Government must investigate not only allegations against the regulator but also examine whether bribes were offered and refused,” Adeyanju added.
