For Farouk Ahmed, the rain has been pouring in torrents. The Authority Chief Executive, (ACE), of Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority, (NMDPRA) has been in the eye of the storm over alleged slothful handling of the apex regulator’s oversight and his uncomplimentary remarks about local investors in the petroleum industry. There have been heightened calls for his removal from the sensitive office.
Last Friday, 9 August, House Speaker Tajudeen Abbas constituted a special 7-man committee as part of an enlarged National Assembly Committee to investigate alleged sabotage in the oil sector. Abbas and Prof. Julius Ihonvbere are chair and co-chair of the lower house committee, respectively.
On Tuesday, 23 July, the House of Representatives had called for Farouk’s suspension from office to pave the way for an unbiased probe of the fracas in the industry. Farouk, whose tenure as ACE has been anything but glorious, stirred the hornet’s nest last month when he said petroleum products refined in Nigeria are of inferior quality compared to imported ones. He accused the newly established $20 billion Dangote Refinery owned by the richest African, Aliko Dangote, and other modular refineries of churning out products with too much sulphur content and posing enormous risk to the health of engines. There are said to be over two dozen modular plants across the country, some producing and meeting demands in their geopolitical catchments.
For effect, he added that Dangote Refinery, which he noted is at 45 per cent completion ratio, has not been licensed for operation. Of course, this may suggest that the biggest single line refinery on earth is in illegal or unlawful activities. The merit of this claim, however, is yet to be ascertained.
Dangote and the Authority have been arms drawn for a while. Last month, the industrialist raised the alarm about the importation of bad fuel into the country. He has also accused unnamed top management staff of Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited, NNPCL, of running blending plants outside Nigeria in Malta Island, to be precise.
Stepping into the matter following a motion by Esosa Iyawe (LP, Edo) during plenary, the lawmakers in a voice vote massively recommended that Farouk should step aside from the agency They stated that the House must investigate the allegation against the regulator for giving licenses to importers of dirty fuel.
“Allegations have been made that the NMDPRA was giving licences to some traders who regularly import high-sulphur content diesel into Nigeria, and using such products poses grave health risks and huge financial losses for Nigerians,” Mr Iyawe said.
He added that “the unguarded statements by the Chief Executive of the NMDPRA, which have since been disproved, sparked outrage from Nigerians who tagged his undermining of local refineries and insistence on the continued importation of fuel an act of economic sabotage, as the imported products have been shown to contain high levels of dangerous compounds.”
The chicken may finally have come home to roost for Farouk. His tenure at NMDPRA and other public service records has been characterised by allegations of incompetence and ineptitude. Staff of the agency have for long been grumbling over stunted promotion, right placement, and a dysfunctional organizational structure.
The most worrisome of the allegations against the ACE has been summarised as a conflict of interests. He is said to have a personal stake in Eterna Oil, another major operator in the oil industry. As such, he is believed to take sides in the plot to scuttle rival domestic investors.
“When an appointed regulator has unholy romance with an operator, this is what you get. It seems to me that he is holding down other operators and local investors for his own to thrive. That is sabotage. I do not only support what the lower house is doing, but I recommend commensurate penalties for anyone found culpable. We must sanitise the industry for the good of all.” Pa. Makan, an engineer and former staff of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, NNPC, said.
Insiders say Farouk, who once headed the Petroleum Products Marketing Company, (PPMC), and the defunct Petroleum Products Pricing Regulatory Agency, (PPPRA), hardly comes to the office, operating like a one man business. In addition, they said he is in an endless conflict with the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission, NUPRC, headed by Engineer Gbenga Komolafe
Not a few people have called for sanctions on Farouk since his hostility to indigenous investors gained traction. Social media platforms like X (Twitter) and Instagram have been awash with calls for his resignation or sack.
For instance, @Dankatsina50 said: “This is a strategy to frustrate Dangote refinery. This has been the game of the oil cabal that has made a whole country not have a single functioning refinery for years. They should allow him to be selling the inferior one to us like that, we will buy it.” Gabriel Ikpe (@gabbyikpe) another X user on 19 July wrote: “This guy needs to be fired seriously.”
@officialABAT wrote: “The FG needs to relieve this guy from that office for demarketing brand Nigeria. This is not how to promote local production and export made in Nigeria @officialABAT @OfficialAPCNg @FinMinNigeria @OfficialNEPC,”
An instagram user with the handle Obarotv wrote: “These guys import the worst kind of diesel that is banned in the West. They are making big bucks with imports and don’t want to see an end to it.”
Iyelife1 says: A few years ago, we used to refer to “made in China,” as inferior. Now, most things we consume are from China. We need to support domestic production. Excessive importation is killing our currency and economy.
Ahmed Farouk’s appointment as Chief Executive of NMDPRA in September 2021 sparked controversy. Then President Muhammodu Buhari, who approved the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA), had previously forwarded Engineer Sarki Auwalu to the Senate for confirmation withdrew it and replaced him with Farouk. Many people kicked at the time, reading political undertones to the drama.
Is it time for fresh air in the industry? The ball is in President Bola Tinubu’s court. “The president used to be a no-nonsense man. He needs to be decisive in tackling the long-term abuses in the oil industry. Otherwise, these guys will fuck him up. There is no point keeping saboteurs in the system.” Abubakar Lewa, a student said.
