Aliko Dangote, president and chief executive officer of Dangote Industries Limited, has revealed details of how Farouk Ahmed, the chief executive officer of the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA) spent $5 million on children’s education in Switzerland.
On Sunday, Dangote accused Ahmed of economic sabotage, alleging that his actions were undermining domestic refining in Nigeria.
Speaking at a press conference at the Dangote Petroleum Refinery, Dangote accused the leadership of the NMDPRA of colluding with international traders and oil importers to frustrate local refining through the continued issuance of petroleum product import licences.
Dangote further alleged that Ahmed was living beyond his legitimate means, claiming that four of his children attended secondary schools in Switzerland at costs running into several millions of dollars. He said such spending raised serious questions about conflict of interest and the integrity of regulatory oversight in the downstream petroleum sector.
In a statement signed on Monday, Dangote alleged that Ahmed spent over five million dollars on tuition fees for his children’s secondary education in Switzerland.
He listed the children and their schools as Faisal Farouk of Montreux School; Farouk Jr. of Aiglon College; Ashraf Farouk of Institut Le Rosey; and Farhana Farouk of La Garenne International School, noting that each spent six years at the institutions.
According to Dangote, the estimated annual cost of tuition, air tickets and upkeep per child was about $200,000, amounting to $800,000 annually for four children. He added that the total living expenses per child over six years was estimated at $1,200,000, bringing the combined cost for the four children to $4,800,000.
“The approximate total fees for tuition and upkeep is $5,000,000,” he claimed.
Additionally, Dangote alleged that Ahmed spent $2,000,000 on tertiary education for four years for his four children, adding that $210,000 was spent on Faisal’s 2025 Harvard MBA.
“Tuition, upkeep, air tickets and other expenses for tertiary education is approximately $125,000 per annum by 4 years $500,000 x 4 children = $2,000,000. Faisal just finished the 2025 Harvard MBA at $150,000 and $60,000 for upkeep, tickets and other incidentals. Total = $210,000 spent in 2025 for Faisal’s MBA.”
Dangote questioned the source of the funds, citing economic hardship in Ahmed’s home state.
“Nigerians deserve to know the source(s) of these sums of money paid by a public officer while many parents in his home state of Sokoto cannot afford to pay N10,000 school fees for their children and wards,” he said.
Ahmed could not be reached for comments as of Monday night.
Earlier, the House of Representatives’ Joint Committees on Petroleum Resources (Downstream and Midstream) summoned both parties and directed an immediate halt to public altercations.
The committees said the intervention was aimed at preventing an escalation of tensions capable of destabilising Nigeria’s downstream petroleum sector, which they noted had only recently begun to experience relative stability.