The Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA), Farouk Ahmed, has resigned from his position following mounting pressure over allegations of misconduct and regulatory impropriety.
Farouk resigned hours after meeting President Bola Tinubu at the Presidential Villa in Abuja, following the launch of an investigation by the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) into allegations made against him by the Chairman of the Dangote Group, Aliko Dangote.
In the petition submitted through his lawyer, Ogwu Onoja, Dangote, alleged that the NMDPRA boss lived beyond his means, spending over $7 million on the education of his four children in Switzerland over six years upfront, despite a lifetime of public service earnings that could not justify such expenses.
The businessman further claimed that Farouk used his position at NMDPRA to embezzle and divert public funds for personal gain while pledging to present evidence to substantiate his allegations of corrupt enrichment and abuse of office against the NMDPRA boss.
Confirming his resignation on Wednesday, the Special Adviser to the President, Bayo Onanuga, disclosed that Farouk stepped down from the office alongside Gbenga Komolafe, the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) chairman.
To avoid a leadership vacuum in both regulatory agencies, Onanuga noted that President Bola Tinubu has written to the Senate, requesting the expedited confirmation of Oritsemeyiwa Eyesan as Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) and Saidu Mohammed as Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA), both of whom were described as seasoned professionals in the oil and gas industry.
He added that the president has asked the Senate to approve the nominations of the two new chief executives to replace the duo appointed in 2021 by former President Muhammadu Buhari to head the two regulatory agencies established under the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA).
According to the Onannuga, “Eyesan, a graduate of Economics from the University of Benin, spent nearly 33 years with the NNPC and its subsidiaries. She retired as Executive Vice President, Upstream (2023–2024), and previously served as Group General Manager, Corporate Planning and Strategy at NNPC from 2019 to 2023.
“Engineer Saidu Aliyu Mohammed, born in 1957 in Gombe, graduated from Ahmadu Bello University in 1981 with a Bachelor’s in Chemical Engineering. He was announced today as an independent non-executive director at Seplat Energy.
“His prior roles include Managing Director of Kaduna Refining and Petrochemical Company and Nigerian Gas Company, as well as Chair of the boards of West African Gas Pipeline Company, Nigeria LNG subsidiaries, and NNPC Retail.
“He also served as Group Executive Director/Chief Operating Officer, Gas & Power Directorate, where he provided strategic leadership for major gas projects and policy frameworks, including the Gas Masterplan, Gas Network Code, and contributions to the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA).
“Engineer Mohammed played a pivotal role in delivering key projects such as the Escravos–Lagos Pipeline Expansion, the Ajaokuta–Kaduna–Kano (AKK) Gas Pipeline, and Nigeria LNG Train.
