Billionaire businessman Aliko Dangote has accused Engr. Farouk Ahmed, Chief Executive of the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA), of spending over $5 million on the foreign secondary education of his four children in Switzerland.

The claims were made in a circular obtained by SaharaReporters, signed by Dangote and addressed directly to Ahmed under the heading “ALLEGATION.”

According to the circular, Ahmed’s children—Faisal Farouk, Farouk Jr., Ashraf Farouk, and Farhana Farouk—attended Montreux School, Aiglon College, Institute Le Rosey, and La Garenne International School, each reportedly for six years. Dangote broke down the alleged expenses:

• Annual tuition, air tickets, and upkeep per child: $200,000 × 4 = $800,000
• Total living expenses over six years: $1,200,000 × 4 = $4,800,000
• Approximate total for tuition and upkeep: $5,000,000

Dangote also raised concerns about tertiary education costs, claiming Ahmed’s children spent roughly $2 million for four years of university studies, including a $150,000 tuition for Faisal Farouk’s 2025 Harvard MBA.

“FACTS DON’T LIE!” Dangote wrote in the circular, urging transparency and asking Nigerians to scrutinize how a lifelong public servant could afford such expenditures while many parents in Sokoto State struggle to pay minimal school fees.

Dangote accused Ahmed of sabotaging local refining and domestic investment, likening regulatory practices in the downstream petroleum sector to economic sabotage. Using a bakery analogy, he said:

“If I know your cost is ₦1,000 and I sell in front of your bakery at ₦800, what does that mean? Are you paying for me, or sabotaging me?”

Dangote warned that Nigeria must protect strategic assets like the Dangote Refinery, stressing that shutting it down would be disastrous.

He called for investigation by the Code of Conduct Bureau (CCB) into Ahmed’s alleged expenditures and threatened to publish detailed records of the schools attended and fees paid.

“I will sue those schools to publish how much fees he has paid for all the time they were there,” Dangote said. He added that he would also seek disclosure of universities attended by Ahmed’s children and the total costs incurred abroad.

Dangote’s allegations have intensified tensions between Dangote Refinery leadership and NMDPRA, as Nigeria’s downstream petroleum sector faces scrutiny over regulatory conduct and transparency.