Obi demands public trust following ex-NMDPRA boss’s $5m school controversy

Former Labour Party presidential candidate, Peter Obi, has weighed in on the controversy surrounding the former Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority, Farouk Ahmed.

Recalled that the President of the Dangote Group, Aliko Dangote, had accused Ahmed of spending about $5 million on the secondary school education of his four children in Switzerland.

Dangote, during a press conference in Lagos, publicly called for a full investigation into the matter, arguing that the alleged expenditure was inconsistent with Ahmed’s status as a public officer and raised concerns about transparency and integrity in public service.

The controversy later led to Ahmed’s resignation as head of the NMDPRA, following sustained public scrutiny over the allegations.

Reacting to the development in a post via his verified X handle on Monday, Obi described the issue as one of public trust and moral responsibility.

According to him, the alleged amount translates to about ₦7.5 billion at current exchange rates, a figure he said raises serious ethical concerns in a country with over 18 million out-of-school children.

“At current exchange rates, $5 million is approximately ₦7.5 billion,” he said, adding that “in a country with over 18 million out-of-school children — the highest number in the world — this revelation inevitably raises questions of proportionality, public trust, and moral responsibility.”