Korede Abdullah 
LAGOS, Nigeria – The Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) urge Nigeria’s anti-graft agencies to urgently investigate allegations of corruption involving the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA).
In a petition dated Monday, SERAP asks the Code of Conduct Bureau (CCB), the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), and the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) to probe claims that the agency’s leadership engages in financial impropriety and abuse of regulatory powers.
The call follows public allegations by Dangote Group President, Aliko Dangote, who claims that NMDPRA Chief Executive Engr. Farouk Ahmed spends about $5 million on the secondary school education of four of his children in Switzerland and arbitrarily issues licences for importing petroleum products from Russia.
SERAP Deputy Director Olawole Oluwadare says the allegations warrant immediate investigation. “We urge the CCB, EFCC and ICPC to urgently investigate these allegations, identify those responsible, recover any proceeds of corruption and bring them to justice,” he says.
Oluwadare also calls on the agencies to jointly invite Ahmed to explain both the alleged foreign school expenditure and the licensing claims, stressing that regulatory opacity undermines confidence in Nigeria’s oil and gas sector.
SERAP notes that investigating the matter would align with Section 15(5) of the 1999 Constitution, which mandates the state to abolish corruption and abuse of power, as well as Nigeria’s obligations under the United Nations Convention against Corruption.
The organisation further urges President Bola Tinubu’s administration to protect Dangote as a whistleblower. “Mr Dangote is protected under Article 33 of the UN Convention against Corruption,” Oluwadare says, adding that the disclosures serve the public interest and strengthen accountability in the petroleum sector.
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Edino Chubiyo Cornelius 
Oluwafunbi Bello 
Mirian Gom 
Hussaini Ibrahim