Dangote Ignores Northern Elders, Rejects Sultan’s Intervention in NMDPRA Dispute

Dangote Ignores Northern Elders, Rejects Sultan’s Intervention in NMDPRA Dispute

Aliko Dangote, Africa’s richest man and chairman of the Dangote Refinery, rebuffed mediation efforts by the Sultan of Sokoto, Muhammadu Sa’ad Abubakar III, and other northern elders aimed at resolving his prolonged dispute with the former Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA) Chief Executive, Farouk Ahmed.

A source familiar with the development told THE WHISTLER that the Sultan intervened in the crisis, urging both parties to “sheath their swords” in the interest of northern unity. However, Dangote allegedly rejected the move and made himself unreachable to forestall further appeals.

According to the source, Dangote deliberately diverted phone calls from respected northern elders, including the Sultan, shortly after the initial intervention. “Once the Sultan spoke to him, Dangote shut the door completely. Nobody could tell him anything again,” the source said.

Dangote, from Kano State, and Ahmed, from Sokoto State, have been at loggerheads since July 2024, when Ahmed publicly described products from the Dangote Refinery as inferior. The former regulator claimed that petrol produced by the refinery had higher sulphur content than imported fuel, a comment that infuriated the billionaire businessman.

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Dangote accused the NMDPRA under Ahmed of undermining local refining and sabotaging Nigeria’s energy security. The dispute escalated last week when Dangote alleged that the regulator issued what he described as “reckless” import licences despite his refinery having sufficient production capacity.

He specifically accused Ahmed of approving licences for the importation of about 7.5 billion litres of petroleum products for the first quarter of 2026 and planning payouts of about ₦250 billion to oil marketers, actions Dangote said entrenched dependence on fuel imports.

Ahmed, however, maintained that Nigeria could not rely on a single refinery and argued that the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) 2021 empowers the NMDPRA to issue import licences to qualified operators.

The feud took a more personal turn on December 15 during a briefing at the Dangote Refinery, where Dangote alleged that Ahmed paid about $5 million for his four children’s six-year secondary education in Switzerland. The following day, Dangote petitioned the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) to investigate the former regulator.

Ahmed dismissed the allegations as “wild and spurious,” stating that he would submit himself for a formal investigation rather than engage in public exchanges.

The standoff culminated in Ahmed’s resignation on December 17 after a meeting with President Bola Tinubu. The State House later announced that President Tinubu forwarded the names of Engineer Saidu Aliyu Mohammed as the new NMDPRA CEO and Oritsemeyiwa Amanorisewo Eyesan as Chief Executive of the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) to the Senate for confirmation.

Dangote Ignores Northern Elders, Rejects Sultan’s Intervention in NMDPRA Dispute