Groups including Young Professionals for Peace and Development, Coalition of Civil Society Against Corruption, South East Frontiers, Niger Delta Advocacy for Good Governance, and Yoruba Action Group for Sustainable Development, have apologised to the chief executive officer of the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority, (NMDPRA), Engr Farouk Ahmed, over alleged corruption.
The leadership of the groups, including the director, Lawyers in Defence of Good Governance, Olawale Mudasiru, the national coordinator, Northern Interest Project and Alhaji Abdullahi Farouk, president, Young Professionals for Peace and Development, Engr. Emeka Obioara, president, Coalition of Civil Society Against Corruption; Comrade Adedayo Oluwasegun, coordinator, South East Frontiers; Agozie Chibudom, president, Niger Delta Advocacy for Good Governance; Perepate Godspower; and president, Yoruba Action Group for Sustainable Development, Mogbojuri A. Alao, publicly tendered their apology and withdrew their petitions calling for the removal of the NMDPRA’s CEO during a world press conference in Abuja yesterday.
This was contained in a press address signed by the groups’ leadership, who said that their later investigation and the information gathered showed that they had made unfounded allegations and unverifiable claims against Ahmed and his family.
They said: “We, the undersigned civil society groups, have been raising agitation for the removal of the NMDPRA boss due to his mismanagement of public funds and use of public funds to sponsor four of his children in expensive schools/ ivory leagues abroad, to the tune of $5 million.
“There, we are alleged to be luxury at the expense of Nigerians, and the funds are from illegal proceeds, as the head of the agency. We went further to demand immediate removal and prosecution of the NMDPRA boss.
“A campaign that lasts for weeks. Gentlemen of the press, our further findings and investigations later brought to our notice showed that our initial allegations were unfounded as further evidence made available to us shows that the said children had already graduated from their respective institutions even before he was appointed as the chief executive officer of the agency, and also that the said children were on scholarship during their stay as students of the institution.
“This means that our initial claim was false and misleading, as other findings have revealed in the case of further inquiries to press home our demand. Based on superior findings that negate our initial demand, we hereby use this medium to withdraw our initial petitions against the NMDPRA Boss, and tender an unreserved apology for the wrong information we were peddling about him.
“We are not mindful of the pains this would have caused the entire family while the petition was submitted and followed. We were misinformed and tendered our apology for the misleading news we spread to the public against the CEO.
“On behalf of the groups listed below, we hereby officially withdraw the said petition and pass a vote of confidence on Engr. Farouk Ahmed. We also noticed the unhindered implementation of the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA 2021), which ensures equitable distribution of petroleum products nationwide compared to what we used to have. The audit report made available to us didn’t show the mentioned infractions, which further buttresses the fact that the agency fund was not used to sponsor his children in the mentioned institutions.
“While we remain alive to our responsibility as watchdogs of society, especially public office holders entrusted with public funds, we won’t shy away from withdrawing frivolous allegations if it is found that we have been misguided by information initially made available to us.
Again, we all tender our unreserved apology.”
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