By Jane Okafor, Abuja
The feud between Aliko Dangote, chairman of the Dangote Group and Farouk Ahmed, chief executive officer (CEO) of the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA) took a dizzying dimension on Tuesday with the former releasing details of about $5 million spent on the secondary school education of the latter’s children in Switzerland.
In a paid newspaper publication, Dangote claimed that Ahmed paid the said $5million for four of his children, spread across a period of six years.
The billionaire businessman also submitted a petition against Ahmed Farouk, to the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission(ICPC), calling on the anti -corruption agency to arrest, investigate and prosecute the NMDPRA boss for allegedly living far beyond what his legitimate means could afford as a public servant.
In the petition, dated and submitted on December 16 through his lawyer, Ogwu Onoja, SAN, which was received by the office of the ICPC Chairman, Musa Aliyu, SAN, Dangote alleged that Farouk had spent of spent well over seven million dollars on the education of his four children in Switzerland.
He noted that Farouk paid upfront for a six-month period, without any legitimate source of income to justify such lifestyle .
“That Engr Farouk Ahmed has grossly abused his office contrary to the extant provisions of the Code of Conduct for Public Officers and, in doing enmeshed himself in monumental corruption and unlawful spending of Public funds running into millions of dollars.
“That Engr Farouk Ahmed spent without evidence of lawful means of income humongous amount of money of over 7million dollars of Public funds, for the education of his four children in different schools in Switzerland for a period of six years upfront,” the petition stated.
Earlier on Monday, Dangote had alleged that Ahmed Farouk “paid $5 million” to a Swiss secondary school for his children’s education, describing the act as “economic sabotage and corruption”.
In the newspaper advert, Dangote named the four children as Faisal Farouk, Farouk Jr., Ashraf Farouk, and Farhana Farouk.
The billionaire entrepreneur also identified the secondary schools Farouk’s children attended for a duration of six years as Montreux School, Aiglon College, Institut Le Rosey, and La Garenne International School.
Not done, the industrialist also presented estimated annual tuition, living expenses, air travel, and upkeep, which were multiplied across four children and several years of study.
According to him, the annual cost of tuition, airfare, and upkeep per child was $200,000, which totals $800,000 per year for his four children.
He reckoned that the total living expenses and air tickets per child over six years was $1.2 million, amounting to $4.8 million for all four children, bringing the combined cost of tuition and upkeep for all the children to about $5 million.
He also revealed the tertiary education expenses for Ahmed’s children, noting that tuition, upkeep, airfare, and other costs average approximately $125,000 per year over a four-year period, stressing that this translate to $500,000 for four years per child and amounting to $2 million for all of them.
“Faisal just finished 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,” he added.
In the reckoning of Dangote, Nigerians deserve to know the source of the 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.
On the petition, Dangote named the four children and the Swiss schools they attend, the amount paid for each of them, to assist the ICPC during verification of claims.
He accused Farouk of using the instrumentality of the NMDPRA to convert public funds for personal gain and private interests, actions which he claimed had fuelled public outrage and recent protests by various groups.
The oil magnate claimed Farouk has spent his entire adult working life in the Nigerian public sector and could not, based on his legitimate earnings over the years, have accumulated funds close to the alleged seven million dollars used to finance his children’s education abroad.
Dangote stated that, “It is without doubt that the above facts in relation to abuse of office, breach of the Code of Conduct for public officers, corrupt enrichment and embezzlement are gross acts of corrupt practices for which your Commission is statutorily empowered under Section 19 of the ICPC Act to investigate and prosecute.
“That Engr Farouk Ahmed has corruptly enriched himself with taxpayers’ money meant for public consumption and diverted it into private uses.
“Any Public officer who uses his office or position to gratify or confer any corrupt or unfair advantage upon himself or any relation or associate of the public officer or any other public officer shall be guilty of an offence and shall on conviction be liable to imprisonment for five(5) years without option of fine.”
He expressed confidence in the capacity of the ICPC, working in conjunction with other anti-corruption agencies, to prosecute financial crimes and ensure that offenders are punished once a prima facie case is proven.
He warned that the allegations, if left unanswered, would continue to undermine public trust and investor confidence.
He therefore urged the Commission to act decisively by investigating the allegations against Farouk and prosecuting him if found culpable, stressing that the matter is already in the public domain.
Dangote noted that decisive action by the ICPC would help uphold justice and protect the image of the administration of President Bola Tinubu.
He also vowed to provide evidence to substantiate his allegations of corrupt enrichment, abuse of office and impunity against the NMDPRA chief.
Dangote, during a press briefing in Lagos on Sunday, made some allegations against the NMDPRA boss, where he spoke on regulatory failures and alleged corruption in the downstream petroleum sector.
