Lawyers, CSOs protest, demand NMDPRA CEO’s resignation

A group of lawyers and Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) protested in Abuja on Monday, demanding the immediate resignation of the Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA), Engineer Farouk Ahmed.

The group known as Concerned Lawyers and Civil Society in Defence of Public Trust alleged that Ahmed had abused his office by using public funds to fund his children education abroad.

The protesters, who gathered at the NMDPRA headquarters, claimed that Ahmed’s actions were a clear case of corruption and abuse of power.

They alleged that the funds used to pay for the children’s education were diverted from public coffers and that Ahmed’s actions were a betrayal of the public trust.

The protesters demanded Ahmed’s immediate resignation, a full-scale investigation into the NMDPRA’s financial records, and the recovery of any public funds used to educate his children.

They also called for Ahmed’s prosecution under the Public Procurement Act (PPA) and the Code of Conduct Bureau (CCB) guidelines.

The protesters further demanded that any recovered funds be channelled to rehabilitate schools in Nigeria’s most disadvantaged oil-producing communities and warned that, if their demands are ignored, they will return stronger, louder, and more resolute, occupying every relevant space to demand justice and accountability.

“This protest is about justice. It is about drawing the line in the sand and saying, no more abuse of public trust. No more luxury for the few while the many wallow in deprivation. No more wasting of public funds while Nigerian university students are stuck at home due to strikes, poor infrastructure, and lack of funding.

“To the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, His Excellency Bola Ahmed Tinubu, we ask you: will you watch this continue under your administration? Or will you act, and show that your government is serious about transparency and equity?

“Today’s protest is not the end. If these demands are ignored, we will return stronger, louder, and more resolute. Nigerian youths, mothers, and civil society will occupy every relevant space to say: enough is enough.

“Let it be known: Engr. Farouk Ahmed must step down now. Not tomorrow. Not next week. Not after consultations. He must resign today. He must return every kobo spent on his children’s foreign education. And he must face the full weight of the law. That is the only way the Nigerian people will believe that justice still lives in this land,” the group stated.

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