Dangote petitions ICPC over alleged $7m illicit spending by NMDPRA CEO

By Seun Ibiyemi

Business mogul and President of the Dangote Group, Alhaji Aliko Dangote has petitioned the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC), urging the anti-graft agency to investigate the Managing Director of the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA), Farouk Ahmed, for alleged financial impropriety and abuse of office.

In a petition dated December 16 and addressed to ICPC Chairman Musa Adamu Aliyu, Dangote accused Ahmed of living beyond his lawful earnings as a public officer. 

The petition claims that Ahmed spent more than $7 million over six years to pay for the overseas education of his four children in Switzerland, without any verifiable source of income to justify such expenditure.

Dangote further alleged that Ahmed misappropriated public funds and used his position at the NMDPRA for personal gain, contributing to public discontent and protests in the downstream petroleum sector. 

The petition included details of the children, the schools they attended, and the amounts allegedly paid, requesting ICPC to verify the claims.

“It is without doubt that the above facts in relation to abuse of office, breach of the code of conduct for public officers, corrupt enrichment and embezzlement constitute gross acts of corrupt practices,” Dangote stated, citing Section 19 of the ICPC Act, which empowers the commission to investigate and prosecute such offences.

Dangote emphasized his readiness to provide supporting documents and urged the ICPC to act promptly to uphold accountability and safeguard public confidence in President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s administration.

If established, the allegations could lead to prosecution with a prison term of up to five years under the ICPC Act, with no option of a fine.