The House of Representatives has called on the federal government to suspend Farouk Ahmed, the CEO of the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA), over what they described as “unguarded comments.”
This resolution was passed during a plenary session on Tuesday after Esosa Iyawe from Edo sponsored a motion of urgent public importance titled ‘Urgent Need to Address the Outrage Resulting from Unguarded Comments by the Chief Executive of the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Authority’.
The controversy began when Ahmed claimed on July 18 that local refineries, including the Dangote Petroleum Refinery, were producing inferior products compared to imported ones.
He also alleged that Dangote requested the suspension of all petroleum product imports, particularly automotive gas oil (AGO) or jet kerosene, directing all oil marketers to his refinery. Ahmed argued this would harm Nigeria’s energy security and create a monopoly.
Aliko Dangote, CEO of Dangote Group, denied these claims. On Monday, a meeting was held between Heineken Lokpobiri, Minister of State for Petroleum Resources (Oil), Dangote, Ahmed, Gbenga Komolafe, CEO of the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC), and Mele Kyari, Group CEO of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) Limited, to address the issue.
Additionally, the House of Representatives joint committee on petroleum resources (downstream and midstream) has launched an investigation into Ahmed’s statements and the allegations that international oil companies (IOCs) in Nigeria are obstructing the Dangote refinery’s operations.
Iyawe criticized Ahmed’s comments as “careless,” “unprofessional,” and “unpatriotic,” especially in light of calls for protests against the federal government.
He noted that Ahmed made the statement without prior investigation, sparking outrage among Nigerians who viewed it as economic sabotage, as imported products were found to contain high levels of harmful compounds.
The motion was adopted by a voice vote led by Speaker Tajudeen Abbas. Consequently, the House requested the federal government to suspend the NMDPRA CEO pending the outcome of the investigations.