Aliko Dangote, president and chief executive officer of Dangote Industries Limited, has released fresh details alleging that Farouk Ahmed, head of the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA), spent about $5 million on the secondary education of his children in Switzerland.
Dangote made the disclosure while intensifying his criticism of the downstream oil sector regulator, whom he accused of actions he said were harmful to local refining efforts in Nigeria. Speaking at the Dangote Petroleum Refinery in Ibeju-Lekki, Lagos, the billionaire industrialist claimed that the NMDPRA leadership had continued to approve fuel import licences in a way that favoured international traders and importers over domestic refiners.
According to Dangote, Ahmed’s lifestyle raised red flags about possible conflicts of interest and the integrity of regulatory oversight in the petroleum sector. He alleged that four of Ahmed’s children attended elite Swiss boarding schools, with total expenses running into several millions of dollars.
In a detailed statement issued on Monday, Dangote named the schools allegedly attended by Ahmed’s children: Montreux School, Aiglon College, Institut Le Rosey, and La Garenne International School. He claimed each child spent six years at the institutions.
Dangote estimated that tuition, travel, accommodation and general upkeep cost roughly $200,000 per child annually. He said this translated to about $800,000 each year for four children, with living and education expenses over six years amounting to approximately $4.8 million. “The approximate total fees for tuition and upkeep is $5,000,000,” he stated.
He further alleged that additional funds were spent on tertiary education, estimating about $2 million for four years of university studies for the children. Dangote also claimed that one of the children, Faisal Farouk, completed a Harvard MBA in 2025, at a cost of about $210,000, covering tuition, living expenses, and travel.
Dangote questioned how such sums were funded, pointing to the economic realities in Ahmed’s home state of Sokoto. He argued that the scale of spending warranted public scrutiny, especially given the financial difficulties faced by many Nigerian families.
As of Monday night, Ahmed had not responded to the allegations, and efforts to reach him for comments were unsuccessful.
Meanwhile, the House of Representatives Joint Committees on Petroleum Resources (Downstream and Midstream) have summoned both Dangote and Ahmed, directing them to suspend public exchanges. The lawmakers said their intervention was necessary to prevent further tension that could threaten the relative stability recently recorded in Nigeria’s downstream petroleum sector.
