FOUNDER and President/Chief Executive of the Dangote Group, Aliko Dangote, has accused the Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA), Farouk Ahmed, of corruption, alleging that he spent $5 million on secondary school education for his children in Switzerland.
News Point Nigeria reports that Dangote made the allegation on Sunday during a media briefing at the Dangote Petroleum Refinery and Fertiliser Plant, Lekki, Lagos, describing the alleged expenditure as inconsistent with a public servant’s income and a threat to public trust in regulatory institutions.
Dangote said the alleged payment covered six years of secondary education for four children, an amount he argued could not reasonably be explained by earnings from public service.
“I’ve had people actually complaining about a regulator who put his children in secondary school, and that secondary school education, which is six years, four of them cost Nigeria five million dollars.
“My children went to secondary school in Nigeria. They did not go outside Nigeria to attend secondary school,” Dangote said.
Dangote said taxpayers deserve accountability and questioned why a public official could afford to spend millions of dollars on his children’s foreign education if public funds were being properly used.
“This is a system where some of us are taxpayers. When people are complaining, we also complain, because when I pay tax, I want to see my money put to use, not stolen.
“I don’t know why the authority chief executive, Malam Farouk, has four children educated in Switzerland at the cost of five million dollars for their secondary school education alone, not university,” he alleged.
The billionaire said the alleged expenditure raised serious concerns about income declaration, conflicts of interest, and regulatory integrity in the downstream petroleum sector.
“The man must come and explain to Nigerians how he paid five million dollars for six years of his four children’s education.
“I don’t think any of you here has paid that kind of fees for your own children. We cannot allow this to continue, because we must make sure people do not come and destroy a country just because they want to make a living that is not genuine or legal,” he said.
Dangote further referenced reports about overseas university education.
“I know that one of them just finished Harvard. I want to see what kind of system we are operating where people are busy destroying a country and taking money from government, because their income does not match this kind of spending,” he said.
“Even if it were me paying five million dollars for six years for four children, the taxman would have to look at my taxes and ask how much I paid.”
Dangote said Ahmed should not be immediately dismissed from office but must first be investigated by relevant authorities to clear his name.
“The Code of Conduct Bureau, or any other body deemed appropriate by the government, should investigate the matter. Let them see whether his income matches the five million dollars paid as school fees for six years for four children. This is without tickets.
“He does not need to be sacked. Let him come and clear that he has not compromised his positions in government at the cost of Nigerians,” he said.
The CEO contrasted the allegation with the struggles of ordinary Nigerians.
“From where he comes from, people are struggling to pay ₦100,000 for secondary school fees. Many children are at home because their parents cannot afford that amount.
“I cannot understand why someone who has worked all his life in government would have four children whose secondary school fees alone cost five million dollars,” he said.
Dangote warned that he would take legal steps to compel disclosure if the allegation was denied.
“If he denies it, I will not only publish what he paid as tuition in those secondary schools, but I will also sue the schools to disclose how much he paid for the entire period.
“He should tell Nigerians which universities they attended and how much was paid there. People who have done something wrong must be prosecuted,” he said.
Ahmed has yet to respond to the allegation as of the time of filing this report.