The Coalition of Northern Youths Organization has written an open letter to President Bola Tinubu calling for the dismissal of the Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA), Eng. Farouk Ahmed.
In addition, the youth from the north issued a seven-day ultimatum to demand Ahmed’s resignation, otherwise mass actions would be imminent.
The request came as the agency is under scrutiny over its handling of the import and regulation of petroleum products.
In an open letter signed by its spokesman Muhammed Saad Aboki, the coalition claimed that numerous allegations were being made against Ahmed, including economic sabotage related to the import of petroleum products containing a high proportion of unsafe compounds.
The letter read: “It is with bleeding hearts that the above-named organisation writes to inform you of its determination to call for the sacking of the Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA), Engineer Farouk Ahmed.
“This became necessary after we conducted an in-depth and thorough review of all recent events relating to the Chief Executive Officer. In doing so, we have come to a number of allegations against him, which are set out below:
“As CEO of a regulatory body in the oil and gas industry, he granted licenses to some traders who regularly imported diesel with high sulphur content (of about 1800 ppm and 2000 ppm respectively) into Nigeria, despite knowing full well that such products posed serious health risks and huge financial losses to the country.
“The dissemination of rash and thoughtless statements without prior investigation inflamed the nation’s courage and created further tension in the country amid ongoing anti-government protests.”
“Deliberately violating the Petroleum Industry Act (Section 109) which introduced the Domestic Crude Supply Obligation to ensure that local refineries receive crude oil allocations without being strangled.
“Alleged ownership of a refinery/blending plant in Malta, hence its continued insistence on continuing to import fuel, which is an act of economic sabotage as the imported products have been shown to contain high concentrations of dangerous compounds.
“Abuse of office and exploitation of his position as CEO of a regulatory body to undermine local refineries and thwart their operations and existence, knowing full well that their existence will reduce the demand for foreign exchange and strengthen the naira. This is hidden under the pretext that these refineries are producing inferior products while the imported products are inferior.”
The letter further states: “In view of this unfortunate and quite shameful development, the Coalition of Northern Youths has unanimously resolved to call for the sacking of Engineer Farouk Ahmed in order to provide a neutral ground on which a proper investigation can be conducted into the various allegations made against him. We firmly believe that only when he is out of the picture can a thorough investigation be conducted without obstruction or bias.
“Sir, you will agree with me that it is high time that perpetrators of bribery and corruption, unprofessionalism and incompetence were punished so as to act as a deterrent and also in line with President Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda to make Nigeria a better nation.
“Against this background, the Coalition of Northern Youth Organization calls on Nigerians to take to the streets and occupy the NMDPRA headquarters daily from Wednesday, August 28, 2024 until Engr Farouk Ahmed resigns or is sacked for causing suffering to Nigerians and inciting them against President Bola Tinubu’s New Hope Agenda.”
