The President of the Nigerian Bar Association, NBA, Afam Osigwe, says the rift between Aliko Dangote and the recently resigned Managing Director of the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA), Farouk Ahmed, was becoming embarrassing for public officers and the government.
Osigwe made this statement on Wednesday during an interview on Politics Today, a programme on Channels Television monitored by DAILY POST.
DAILY POST reports that Ahmed tendered his resignation on Wednesday evening, barely 24 hours after allegations of corruption were leveled against him by Dangote.
“I don’t know the facts, and I just saw the breaking news on your screen. It would be unfair for me to take sides with any of the parties, but sometimes the perception of corruption may be weightier than the actual proof of corruption.
“And it would be unfair to condemn him, but I can say that the matter is becoming publicly embarrassing for public officers and for the government, and I think the government is being decisive in accepting their resignation.
“I mean the breaking news has always said that they resigned. So I would like to say that, look, you’re heating up the system. Your continuous actions are making things difficult and attracting negative attention.
“I’m not privy to the meeting, but I also think you know so. And then with the ICPC indicating that they would investigate the allegation, I think the President was being decisive. Whether they were encouraged to resign or willingly resigned remains to be seen.
“But let it also not be that these allegations were used to get rid of a person and then nothing more happens. Let there be a proper investigation so that the man either clears his name or it is proven that he was actually corrupt or guilty of the allegation,” he said.
Dangote-NMDPRA saga becoming embarrassing – NBA President, Osigwe
