President Bola Tinubu is said to have handled the removal of Farouk Ahmed as Chief Executive Officer of the Nigeria Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA) with great caution to avoid upsetting his northern political base.
The exercise that saw Ahmed exit his position was unlike that of Gbenga Komalafe, who also vacated office as the CEO of the Nigeria Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC).
Following the departures of Ahmed and Komalafe, the Nigerian Senate confirmed the appointments of Saidu Aliyu Mohammed as the new NMDPRA CEO and Oritsemeyiwa Amanorisewo Eyesan as the new NUPRC CEO.
The confirmations came after screenings and recommendations by the Joint Committees on Petroleum (Upstream, Downstream, and Gas).
According to sources who spoke with Sahara Reporters, Ahmed described as a scion of the Sokoto Caliphate was handled with particular care to prevent any political backlash in the North.
“When it was time to remove Farouk Ahmed, President Tinubu could not confront him to resign, so he sent an aide, Muri, to ask him to resign.
“Farouk is a scion of the Sokoto Caliphate. He was handled with respect not to offend his northern power base,” a source said.
In contrast, Komalafe’s removal was reportedly influenced by considerations of ethnic balancing within the regulatory framework.
One of the sources added, “Farouk Ahmed was called by Tinubu to resign while Gbenga Komalafe was removed for ethnic balancing. Tinubu reportedly once told Gbenga Komalafe to resist Aliko Dangote, claiming that the businessman is a manipulator.”
Ahmed had previously faced corruption allegations from Aliko Dangote, president of the owner of Dangote Petroleum Refinery.