In a sharp escalation of the ongoing friction within Nigeria’s oil sector, petroleum expert Engr. Kailani Mohammed has publicly challenged business mogul Aliko Dangote to a “skeletons in the closet” showdown. Speaking on Trust TV, Mohammed reacted to recent personal allegations made by Dangote against Farouk Ahmed, the CEO of the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA). The expert cautioned that in the high-stakes battle over industry dominance, the billionaire should refrain from “touching people personally” and instead focus on the technical and economic realities of the sector.  

The controversy stems from Dangote’s recent claim that Farouk Ahmed allegedly spent approximately $5 million on his children’s secondary education in Switzerland. In a viral video, the industrialist challenged the regulator to a public denial, asserting that he holds incontrovertible evidence of the expenditure. Mohammed, however, dismissed these tactics as a distraction from Dangote’s alleged attempts to monopolize the petroleum market. He pointedly asked: “When you are fighting, you don’t touch people personally. Can Dangote tell us the source of his money in the 1980s when he was in Port Harcourt? Who is clean?”  

Furthering his critique, Mohammed suggested that the billionaire’s history might not be as unblemished as his public persona suggests. He alluded to hushed narratives regarding the origin of the Dangote fortune, stating, “Every time you want to monopolize, you bring up issues and allegations against people. In the 1980s, we are aware of what happened in Port Harcourt, how he got his money, yet nobody came out to say all these things.” This counter-accusation shifts the focus from current regulatory disputes to the very foundations of Nigeria’s most prominent business empire.

Beyond the personal jabs, the expert also addressed the technical efficiency of the Dangote Refinery, siding with the NMDPRA’s previous assessments. Mohammed argued that the facility is not yet operating at the peak capacity claimed by the company. He noted: “He previously said that the Dangote Refinery was producing 40 percent. The FCC in his refinery, the Fuel Catalytic Cracker that would make it about 80 or 90 percent, is not working. Farouk said it before, and we reiterated it.” This ongoing war of words underscores a deep-seated divide between the nation’s largest private refiner and the regulatory bodies tasked with overseeing the market