Coalition Dares Dangote to Name His Preferred NMDPRA CEO Amid Pressure Allegations

Coalition Dares Dangote to Name His Preferred NMDPRA CEO Amid Pressure Allegations

A  group has challenged billionaire industrialist, Aliko Dangote, to publicly disclose who his preferred candidate for the position of Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA) would be, amid allegations of attempts to forcefully edge out the current CEO, Engr. Farouk Ahmed.

The group, operating under the banner of the Coalition for Market Transparency in Energy Reform, alleged in a statement on Wednesday that sustained pressure against the NMDPRA leadership was driven by vested interests seeking to reverse ongoing efforts to open Nigeria’s downstream petroleum sector to healthy competition.

“If Mr. Dangote succeeds in pushing out Engr. Farouk Ahmed, Nigerians deserve to know whose interests the next NMDPRA CEO will serve,” the group said. “Will the successor be a regulator for the market or a proxy for private commercial interests?”

The coalition warned that any attempt to impose a favoured candidate at the NMDPRA would amount to regulatory capture, with grave implications for competition, pricing discipline and long-term investor confidence in the sector.

According to the group, Engr. Ahmed’s tenure has been marked by policies aimed at expanding market participation, reducing single-player dominance and aligning the downstream industry with the liberalisation objectives of the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA).

“These reforms are inconvenient for monopolistic ambitions, but they are essential for market health,” the statement said.

The group alleged that truncating these efforts through leadership manipulation would undermine Nigeria’s post-subsidy reforms and entrench a new form of private-sector dominance in place of the defunct state monopoly.

“It would be dangerous for Nigeria’s energy security to replace decades of NNPC operations with the dominance of one private refinery, no matter how large or locally celebrated,” the coalition added.

The group also questioned the broader implications of allowing powerful investors to influence regulatory leadership, warning that such precedents could discourage both local and foreign investors who rely on predictable, rules-based governance rather than personality-driven regulation.

“If regulators become vulnerable to pressure from dominant market players, smaller investors will exit, competition will collapse, and consumers will ultimately pay the price,” it said.

The coalition urged the Federal Government and relevant oversight institutions to protect the independence of the NMDPRA, stressing that leadership changes, if any, must follow due process and be guided strictly by performance, not private convenience.

“The Nigerian downstream sector does not need a compliant regulator; it needs a courageous one,” the group stated. “Any attempt to impose a CEO who will do the bidding of a single investor would represent a direct assault on market reform.”