A civil society organisation, the Empowerment for Unemployed Youth Initiative (EUYI), has formally petitioned the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC), demanding swift action on corruption allegations levelled against the Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA), Engr. Farouk Ahmed.
In a letter dated December 17, 2025, with Comrades Danesi Momoh Prince, Igwe Ude-Umanta, Olumide Odumos, Olayinka Dada as signatories and addressed to the Chairmen of ICPC and EFCC in Abuja, the group described the allegations as being of “strong public interest” and urged the anti-graft agency to urgently invite Engr. Ahmed for questioning.
The petition follows claims allegedly made by the President of Dangote Group Plc, Alhaji Aliko Dangote, that Engr. Ahmed spent more than five million dollars on the education of four of his children in secondary schools in Switzerland.
EUYI stated that Alhaji Dangote reportedly claimed to possess “incontrovertible and empirical evidence” to support the allegation and publicly challenged Engr. Ahmed to deny it.
The organisation also noted that more than 48 hours after the allegation surfaced, and over 24 hours after a formal petition was submitted to the ICPC and made public, there had been no denial from the NMDPRA chief.
The group expressed concern over the implication of the allegation, particularly against the backdrop of widespread poverty and unemployment in the country, adding that, at the prevailing foreign exchange rate, the alleged sum of five million dollars translates to over ₦7.2 billion, describing it as “deeply disturbing” if true.
“The commission owes this country, which is bleeding from corruption, an urgent duty to invite Engr. Farouk Ahmed to explain how he became wealthy enough to expend such an amount on secondary school education,” the organisation said.
While stressing that its letter was not intended to cast doubt on the ICPC’s commitment to fighting corruption, EUYI said it was meant to underscore the urgency of the matter and the high level of public interest it has generated.
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