Facts have emerged about how the Authority Chief Executive of the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority, NMDPRA, Engineer Farouk Ahmed squandered public funds procuring foreign education for his children in elite international schools that are among the world’s most expensive.
Engineer Ahmed is embroiled in controversy over the mismanagement of funds and embezzlement, which some civil society groups said has primed him plotting to escape the United Arab Emirates.
Reliable sources named the children, Faisal Ahmed, Farhana Farouk, Ashraf Ahmed and Farouk Ahmed Farouk, are all schooling abroad, a luxury that is not available to children in the host communities of the industry that Ahmed oversees.
This allowed Ahmed to confer undue advantage on his children, whom he also lined up for juicy employment in choice organizations. Faisal Ahmed, now based in Nigeria and working in sales at Oando, graduated from the elite European University in Montreux, Switzerland.
A source disclosed that the European University is “highly competitive with an annual acceptance rate of less than five percent of those who applied, which leaves one wondering what evil deals Ahmed struck with the West to fix his ward there.”
In keeping with his high appetite for Swiss institutions for his children, Ahmed used public funds to see Farouk Ahmed Farouk (Jr.) through Aiglon College Boarding School in Switzerland, a school reputed “to be one of the most successful international boarding schools in the world for 12 to 18-years-olds”. Farouk’s tuition would have cost not less than N300 million annually for the duration of his stay there.
Not to be outdone, Ashraf Ahmed, had his stint at the Institut Le Rosey, described as “a prestigious Swiss boarding school known for its international community, rigorous academics, and emphasis on holistic development.” Located in Rolle, Switzerland, Le Rosey also has a winter campus in Gstaad. Buoyed by diverted public funds, Ashraf has an MBA in view at Harvard at some point this year.
The source said the Institut Le Rosey “is known for its high annual fees. The cost can be up to N230 million equivalent annually for tuition, room, and board, with Engineer Ahmed likely paying more for other services.”
Farhana lives a royal life, attending La Garenne International School, which describes itself as “nestled in the Swiss Alps, offering exceptional education and boarding for students aged 4 to 18.” Farhana’s attendance at La Garenne was further gilded by taking courses at one of the campuses of NIIT Pune, India.