House of Representatives calls for suspension of NMDPRA CEO Farouk Ahmed after controversial remarks on Dangote refinery

The House of Representatives has called on the federal government to suspend Farouk Ahmed, chairman of the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA), following his controversial comments on local refineries.

The resolution was adopted during a plenary session on Tuesday following the adoption of a motion of urgent public importance.

The motion titled “Urgent need to address outrage over ill-advised remarks by the Managing Director of the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Authority” was sponsored by Esosa Iyawe of Edo State.

The dispute between NMDPRA and Dangote Refinery escalated following Ahmed’s comments on July 18.

Ahmed criticised local refineries, including the Dangote Petroleum Refinery, claiming they produced inferior products compared to imports.

He also claimed that Dangote had demanded a halt to all petroleum imports and an order for oil traders to use his refinery exclusively. Ahmed argued that this situation threatened Nigeria’s energy security and market equity due to a potential monopoly.

Aliko Dangote, CEO of Dangote Group, refuted Ahmed’s claims.

In response, Heineken Lokpobiri, Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, met with Dangote, Ahmed, Gbenga Komolafe of the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) and Mele Kyari of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) Limited on Monday to discuss the issue.

In addition, the House of Representatives Joint Committee on Petroleum Resources (Downstream and Midstream) has launched an investigation into Ahmed’s statements and allegations that international oil companies are undermining the Dangote refinery.

In his statement, Iyawe criticized Ahmed’s comments as “careless,” “unprofessional” and “unpatriotic,” citing a lack of prior investigations.

He argued that Ahmed’s “careless” remarks had sparked public outrage, with critics accusing the NMDPRA CEO of economic sabotage because dangerous compounds had been found in imported fuel.

The motion was passed by a majority vote led by Speaker Tajudeen Abbas.

For this reason, the House of Representatives called for Ahmed’s suspension pending the completion of the ongoing investigation.

Chioma Kalu

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