Reps Probe NMDPRA’s Boss Over Alleged Corruption

The House of Representatives has resolved to investigate the allegations made by the President/Chief Executive of the Dangote Group, Aliko Dangote, against the
Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA), Farouk Ahmed.

The allegations bordered on indiscriminate issuance of importation licenses for Premium Motor Sprit (PMS) despite availability of the product produced by indigenous refineries and issue of payment of over $5 million on tuition fees for the NMDPRA boss’ kids in Switzerland schools.

The resolution of the lawmakers followed the adoption of a motion sponsored by Hon. Francis Waive (APC, Delta) and presented by
Hon. Midala Usman at plenary on Tuesday.

Moving the motion, Midala recalled the dispute between NMDPRA and Dangote Refinery over alleged arbitrary grant of importation licenses, allegation of corruption against the Authority’s boss, PMS pricing benchmarks and other sundry issues.

He expressed concerns that if the brewing dispute between NMDPRA and Dangote Refinery was not nipped in the bud, it was likely to get escalated and thus lead to fuel supply crisis during the yuletide season and beyond.

The lawmaker said Dangote Refinery represents a strategic national investment poised to end Nigeria’s historical dependence on imported PMS, conserve foreign exchange, stabilise domestic supply, and moderate fuel pricing in the long term.

He expressed worry that: “unresolved regulatory disagreements between a statutory regulator and the country’s largest domestic refinery pose a real risk of supply chain disruption, pricing volatility, policy inconsistency, and erosion of investor confidence in Nigeria’s petroleum sector.

“The absence of a clearly articulated, transparent, and consistently applied Petroleum Motor Spirit pricing framework creates room for arbitrary determinations, and market distortions to the detriment of Nigerian consumers.

“Nigerians continue to experience frequent Petroleum Motor Spirit price fluctuations without adequate public disclosure of:(a) (b) (c) (d) Refinery gate prices;Regulatory pricing assumptions,Cost and margin components, andthe comparative impact of local refining versus import-based pricing.

“Energy security, downstream stability, and consumer protection cannot be achieved where regulatory uncertainty and pricing opacity persist; Also convinced that urgent legislative investigation is required to clarify regulatory boundaries, harmonize pricing expectations, and restore confidence in Nigeria’s downstream petroleum governance architecture.”

The motion was adopted and referred to the House Committees on Petroleum Resources (Midstream) and (Downstream) to investigate the root causes of the dispute and report back within four weeks for further legislative action.