The ongoing petrol price battle has taken a sharp turn after billionaire businessman and President of Dangote Group, Aliko Dangote, publicly accused the Chief Executive of the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA), Farouk Ahmed, of allegedly spending about $5 million on the secondary school education of his four children in Switzerland.
Dangote made the allegation during a press briefing at the Dangote Petroleum Refinery in Lekki, Lagos, insisting that the matter deserves a full investigation and public explanation, Punch reported.
According to him, Ahmed should appear before the Code of Conduct Tribunal to explain how a public servant could allegedly afford such fees, describing the situation as economic sabotage if proven true.
“I’ve had people make complaints about a regulator who put his four children in secondary school, and the six-year education allegedly cost $5m,” Dangote said. “When you look at his income, it does not match this kind of spending.”
The businessman stressed that even private individuals would normally attract tax scrutiny for such expenses, adding that the alleged figures are difficult to reconcile with earnings from public service.
Dangote also contrasted the alleged spending with the reality facing many Nigerians.
“People are struggling to pay N100,000 school fees. Many children are out of school. I don’t understand how someone who has worked all his life in government can allegedly pay $5m for school fees,” he said.
He noted that his own children attended secondary school in Nigeria, not abroad, and maintained that he was not calling for Ahmed’s removal but for transparency and accountability.
“If he denies it, I will publish the tuition fees and take legal steps to compel the schools to disclose the payments,” Dangote warned.
The allegation is not new. The NMDPRA had previously dismissed similar claims in July, describing them as a coordinated smear campaign against its leadership.
Beyond the personal accusation, Dangote used the briefing to criticise what he described as deep regulatory failures and entrenched interests in the downstream petroleum sector, accusing powerful players of prioritising fuel imports over local refining.
“The volume of fuel imports being allowed into Nigeria is unethical and against national interest,” he said, warning that regulators must not double as traders.
According to him, despite dozens of licences issued, no meaningful refinery development is happening because the environment is hostile.
When contacted for a response, NMDPRA spokesperson George Ene-Ita simply said, “For now, no comment.”
As tensions rise, the petrol price war appears far from over, with regulators, refiners, and importers now locked in an increasingly public and uncomfortable standoff.