By Our correspondence
A coalition of Nigerian and diaspora civil society organisations has announced a coordinated nationwide protests demanding the immediate removal of Farouk Ahmed as Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA).
The coalition said the protests will begin on Wednesday at Ahmed’s office in Abuja and run throughout the week across major Nigerian cities, while simultaneous demonstrations will take place at the United Nations House in New York and the Nigeria House in London.
In a joint statement issued on Tuesday and signed by Comrade Dan Danilson, the groups accused Ahmed of gross abuse of public trust, alleging that he spent millions of dollars to educate three of his children in elite secondary schools in Switzerland while millions of Nigerians struggle to afford basic education at home.
“Nigerians are deeply shocked and outraged that a public official entrusted with regulating a critical national resource has allegedly squandered millions of dollars on luxury foreign education for his children, while citizens in Sokoto State and across the country cannot pay basic school fees,” the statement said.
According to the coalition, the allegations reflect “a glaring betrayal of public trust” and highlight what it described as “unacceptable extravagance at the direct expense of impoverished communities.”
The protesting organisations include Nigerian Citizens for Transparency (NCT), Anti-Corruption Alliance of Nigeria (ACAN), Sokoto Welfare Foundation (SWF), Coalition for Economic Justice (CEJ), African Refiners Network (ARN), Lagos Civil Rights Movement (LCRM), Global Nigerians Diaspora Forum (GNDF), Nigerian Integrity Watch (NIW), Petroleum Workers Union of Nigeria (PWUN), Youth Empowerment Initiative (YEI), Economic Sabotage Watch Group (ESWG), International Coalition Against Corruption (ICAC) and Diaspora Advocacy Network (DAN).
Also backing the protests are the British-Nigerian Solidarity Forum (BNSF), Anti-Graft Campaign UK (AGCU), Human Rights Defenders League (HRDL), Sustainable Energy Alliance (SEA) and the National Anti-Corruption Front (NACF).
Danilson condemned Ahmed’s alleged conduct in strong terms, vowing that the coalition would maintain sustained pressure until he is removed from office and subjected to a full investigation.
“The lavish lifestyle of Farouk Ahmed, funded by questionable wealth while he occupies one of the most sensitive positions in Nigeria’s economy, is an intolerable insult to every struggling Nigerian,” Danilson said.
“Spending millions on foreign luxury education for his children while Sokoto parents beg to raise ₦10,000 school fees shows a man completely detached from the suffering he is supposed to address.”
The coalition further accused Ahmed of undermining Nigeria’s energy security, alleging that his actions favoured fuel importers at the expense of local refineries and domestic investment.
“These are not mere allegations,” Danilson said. They point to deep corruption and conflict of interest that have sabotaged Nigeria’s push for energy independence. By prioritising personal gain over national progress, he has condemned millions to continued poverty and fuel scarcity.”
Describing Ahmed’s actions as “economic treason,” the groups warned that failure to act decisively would signal official tolerance of corruption in critical sectors of the economy.
“The protests starting Wednesday from his very office will send an unmistakable message: Farouk Ahmed must go now,” the statement said. Only his immediate removal can begin to repair the damage done to public trust.”
The coalition called on Nigerians at home and abroad to join what it described as a historic stand against corruption, insisting that the allegations against the NMDPRA chief are too serious to be ignored or swept under the carpet.
