Billionaire industrialist and founder of Africa’s largest refinery, Aliko Dangote, has questioned the source of an estimated $5 million allegedly spent by the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA), Engr. Farouk Ahmed, on his children’s secondary education in Switzerland.
Dangote claimed that the amount was paid for the education of four of Ahmed’s children over a six-year period.
On Monday, Dangote alleged that Ahmed “paid $5 million” to Swiss secondary schools for his children’s education, describing the expenditure as “economic sabotage and corruption.”
In a newspaper advertisement detailing his allegations, Dangote listed the children as Faisal Farouk, Farouk Jr., Ashraf Farouk, and Farhana Farouk.
He named the schools they reportedly attended over the six-year period as Montreux School, Aiglon College, Institut Le Rosey, and La Garenne International School.
Dangote also presented estimated annual tuition fees, living expenses, air travel, and upkeep, calculated across four children and several years of study. He claimed that the annual cost of tuition, airfare, and upkeep per child amounted to about $200,000, bringing the total to approximately $800,000 per year for all four children.
According to him, total living expenses and air travel per child over six years amounted to about $1.2 million, or $4.8 million for the four children combined. Overall, Dangote estimated that the total cost of tuition and upkeep reached $5 million.
He further listed alleged tertiary education expenses for the children, stating that tuition, upkeep, airfare, and related costs average approximately $125,000 per year over a four-year period. This, he claimed, amounts to $500,000 per child and a total of $2 million for all four.
“Faisal just finished a 2025 Harvard MBA at $150,000, with an additional $60,000 for upkeep, tickets, and other incidentals. Total expenditure for Faisal’s MBA in 2025 was $210,000,” Dangote added.
Dangote said Nigerians deserve to know the source of funds allegedly paid by a public officer, especially at a time when, according to him, many parents in Ahmed’s home state of Sokoto struggle to afford school fees as low as ₦10,000 for their children and wards.
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