…Recommends prosecution, urges President to droop him like Beta Edu
Oduduwa Solidarity Network has requested the Federal Government to droop the Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority, NMDPRA, Engr. Farouk Ahmed, over alleged $5 million fraud.
Speaking at a press convention in Lagos on Wednesday, the Convener of the group, Comrade Tunde Osinowo, stated an Independent Report on the Allegations of Abuse of Office has indicted Ahmed of spending an estimated $5.5 million equal of N8 billion at present alternate charges on the elite overseas training of his kids.
Osinowo stated this expenditure, if left unaccounted for, strikes on the coronary heart of Nigeria’s anti-corruption battle, making a mockery of the legal guidelines and the struggling of peculiar residents.
He stated: “This report arises from a growing crisis of confidence in the leadership of NMDPRA and by extension, the integrity of public finance management in Nigeria.
“At the centre of this storm are credible allegations that Engr. Farouk Ahmed funded the overseas secondary and tertiary education of his four children at some of the most expensive institutions in the world.
“These include Institut Le Rosey, widely regarded as the most elite boarding school globally; Aiglon College and La Garenne International School in Switzerland; Montreux Secondary School; and, most recently, Harvard University.
“Our concern is not with private ambition or parental pride, but with the disconnect between this extravagant expenditure and Engr. Ahmed’s known income.
“Nigeria’s civil service, for all its responsibilities, does not pay salaries that can sustain a $5.5 million outlay on education. And to our knowledge, there has been no public disclosure of business earnings, family inheritance, or blind trust that might explain this wealth.
“As an independent network committed to public accountability, we have subjected these claims to due diligence.
“Faisal Farouk, Ashraf Farouk, Farouk Jr., and Farhana Farouk have attended institutions where annual tuition, boarding, travel, and upkeep amount to over $200,000 per child.
“Over a six-year period per child, this easily totals $1.2 million. With four children, the bill escalates to $4.8 million—and rising.
“One of the children recently graduated from Harvard University, where tuition and associated costs reached $152,000 for a single year.
“Ahmed has spent his entire adult life in government employment, beginning his career with the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) and rising through the ranks to his current position at NMDPRA.
“There is no record of declared external income, shareholding in profit-generating entities, or high-value asset sales that would justify this lifestyle.
“The failure of the NMDPRA to sign its public response, the lack of itemised defence, and the absence of a personal affidavit from Ahmed himself, indicate not a willingness to engage, but a strategy of obfuscation.
“This pattern is deeply concerning for an office entrusted with oversight of trillions in petroleum revenue.”
According to the group, Ahmed has breached the sacred belief of his workplace and he has failed the take a look at of transparency.
