By Adekunle Adekoya
What amounted to an earthquake occurred in the oil sector in the week ending today. Mallam Farouk Ahmed, Authority Chief Executive of the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority, NMDPRA, fell from his Olympian heights and his resignation from office was suddenly announced after a meeting with the President at the Presidential Villa Wednesday evening. In unclear circumstances, Engr. Gbenga Komolafe, CEO of the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission, NUPRC, also resigned his job.
The earthquake coming from Alhaji Aliko Dangote, President of Dangote Industries and operator of the largest single train refinery in Africa started with tremors on Sunday when Africa’s richest man accused Farouk Ahmed’s NMDPRA of economic sabotage, alleging that regulatory actions were undermining local refining capacity in Nigeria.
The table not just got shaken, but had its legs broken when Dangote further alleged that the NMDPRA leadership, headed by Ahmed, has continued issuance of import licences for petroleum products and that this is frustrating domestic refiners and entrenching dependence on imports.He also raised personal allegations against the NMDPRA chief, claiming that Ahmed was living beyond his legitimate means, alleging that four of Mr. Ahmed’s children attend secondary schools in Switzerland at costs running into several millions of dollars, arguing that such expenditure raises questions about potential conflicts of interest and the integrity of regulatory oversight in the downstream petroleum sector. After what looked like a feeble rebuttal from Ahmed, he got summoned to the presidential villa and shortly after, his resignation from office was announced, alongside replacements at both the NUPRC and NMDPRA. So far, so good. Will it end there? We wait to see as we all rush round town, looking for money to buy rice and chicken for Christmas.
And this takes me to the myriad of allegations against the incumbent Minister of State, Defence, Dr. Bello Mohammed, Matawallen Maradun, and former governor of Zamfara State, regarding terrorism and banditry. Popularly called Matawalle, this politician, I think, is one of the most fortunate in Nigeria at the moment. He became governor of Zamfara State as a result of a case his party at the time, the PDP filed against the ruling party in the state, the APC.
The court held that all the congresses held by the APC, which produced the governorship and House of Assembly candidates for the election were null and void, and ordered that the party with the next highest votes assume office. So, Matawalle became governor of Zamfara in 2019, and after a little over two years in office, he decamped from the PDP and joined the APC. Since then, his political star had been on the rise, since, after the 2023 elections, he made the cabinet of President Bola Tinubu as Minister of State, Defence.
Recently, reports in both the social and traditional media have been coming up regarding Matawalle’s relationships and dealings with wanted terrorists like Bello Turji. A few days ago, Turji himself was reported as confirming that he participated in a series of peace meetings with the Zamfara State Government during the administration of Matawalle, but vehemently denied claims that he received N30 million or any material inducement as part of the process.
Turji’s rebuttal followed allegations by Musa Kamarawa, a former peace mediator appointed by the Sokoto and Zamfara state governments to facilitate non-kinetic engagement with armed groups. Kamarawa had alleged in a viral video that the former Zamfara governor held meetings with bandit leaders, including Turji, at the Government House in Gusau and allegedly distributed cash and vehicles to them. He specifically claimed that Turji collected N30 million during the peace initiative.
In a separate video response widely circulated online, Turji dismissed the allegations as outright false, insisting that although peace talks took place, neither he nor any Fulani leader acting on his behalf received money or vehicles.
In addition, the National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS), has called for the immediate removal of the Minister of State for Defence, Bello Matawalle, following a series of allegations linking him to banditry, describing the claims as shocking and deeply troubling.
In a statement signed by the President of the Senate of NANS, Usman Adamu Nagwaza, the student body said it was “shocked and appalled by the allegations surrounding the Minister of State for Defence and his alleged relationship with bandits,” adding that the claims constituted “a serious breach of trust” and raised questions about his integrity and suitability to remain in public office.
Now, my take on this: If Farouk Ahmed can be made to resign following allegations, yet unproven, that he was making expenditures far in excess of his legitimate earnings, why is the former Zamfara governor, now minister of state, still in office? I am quite aware that earlier in the year when the same allegations surfaced, government said that it had investigated and that the allegations against him were false. In light of recent disclosures by Bello Turji, why are his alleged links with terrorists not being re-investigated?
Indeed, why is he still in office as Minister of State for Defence? I will refer to late General Sani Abacha again, who was once quoted as saying that “if insurgency lasts beyond 24 hours, government has a hand in it.” The refusal of the Tinubu administration, so far, to name and at least shame sympathisers and funders of terrorists demonstrate an unwillingness to cure the cancer of insecurity that is slowly but surely eating away at the life of Nigeria and Nigerians.
For how long will the people be cannon fodder for the power elite? I demand, on behalf of more than 200 million Nigerians that terror funders and sympathisers must be named, shamed, and prosecuted immediately. What is good for the goose is surely better for the gander, no?
*Adekoya is a commentator on public issues
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