Rep advocates suspension of NMDPRA CEO over “careless" statement on Dangote Refinery

• The federal government is being asked by the house of representatives to suspend Farouk Ahmed, NMDPRA
• During a plenary session on Tuesday, the lower house of parliament passed the resolution
• Ahmed’s comments were deemed "careless" and "unprofessional and unpatriotic" by Iyawe who proposed the motion

Legit.ng journalist Zainab Iwayemi has over 3-year-experience covering the Economy, Technology, and Capital Market.

The house of representatives is requesting that the federal government suspend Farouk Ahmed, chief executive officer of the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA), over “unguarded comments”.

The lower house asked the federal government to suspend the CEO of NMDPRA. Photo Credit: Dangote Refinery
Source: UGC

After a motion of urgent public concern submitted by Edo resident Esosa Iyawe was adopted, The Nation reported that the lower legislative chamber on Tuesday passed the resolution during plenary session.

The subject of the motion was "Urgent Need to Address the Outrage Resulting from the Chief Executive of the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Authority's Unguarded Comments."

Statement unproffessional

Iyawe, called Ahmed's remarks "careless" and "unprofessional and unpatriotic" in light of the calls for protests against the federal administration.

Iyawe claimed that Ahmed made the claim without first carrying out any research.

The lawmaker claimed that the NMDPRA CEO's careless remarks had provoked fury among Nigerians, who saw his undermining of regional refineries and insistence on fuel imports as an act of economic sabotage because imported goods have been found to contain high concentrations of hazardous compounds.

Speaker of the House Tajudeen Abbas put the resolution to a voice vote, and it was approved.

As a result, the lower house requested that the federal government place the NMDPRA CEO on suspension while the claims are being investigated.

Dangote offers to sell refinery

Legit.ng reported that Aliko Dangote has said he is ready to relinquish ownership of the world’s biggest refinery to the Nigeria National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC).

The Nigerian billionaire spoke amid a new dispute over the sulphur content of petroleum products produced from the refinery and a reported misunderstanding with NNPC, one of the refinery's key equity partners, and the Nigeria Midstream Downstream Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA).

The refinery, which was commissioned by former President Mummadu Buhari, is estimated to have cost about $20 billion.

Source: Legit.ng