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Online Security News Publishers Honour IGP Baba, Olukoya, Audi with Man of the Year Award
By Eric Elezuo
The trio of the Inspector General of Police, Usman Alkali Baba, the General Overseer of the Mountain of Fire and Miracles Ministries (MFM), Dr. Daniel Olukoya and the Commandant General of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC), Abubakar Audi, has been honoured with the prestigious Man of the Year Award of the National Association of Online Security News Publishers (NAOSNP).
The trio was considered for the honour as result of their various contributions to the security development and well being of the Nigerian society.
Receiving their awards at the splendidly organised NAOSNP 2021 Security Conference and Awards, the accomplished officers of the law and religion, expressed their joy at the award, adding that they would continue to do their best to see that security of citizens and property is restored, including ensuring that the youths are fed with the Word, to keep them away from acts capable of jeopardising their future and rendering the society ungovernable.
In his response, Dr. Olukoya, who was represented by Pastor Success Enushai, thanked the Association for the honoured, saying it is his responsibility as a minister of God to ensure that security is the lot of all and sundry in the country.
“We are supporting the entrenchment of adequate security in the Nigeria society by doing all within our power to take the youths off the streets, create jobs and inculcate discipline into them through the constant release of the Word of God to also nourish their souls,” Pastor Enushai said.
Dr. Olukoya is the Founder and Presiding Pastor of the thriving MFMM, located along the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway. His youth outreach is targeted the young ones, who have been empowered with vocational crafts that have stood them in the competitive society.
Apart from the ownership of Mountain Top University, Olukoya and his MFMM are the owners and sponsors of the first division club side, MFM football Club, base in Lagos, where they play their home games. The team, in the recent past, has won the National Premier League. The contributions of the servant of God to the security well well being speak volumes.
Also responding, the NSCDC boss, Audi, who was also decorated with the Exemplary leadership award, and was represented by the Public Relations Officer of the Corps, DCC Olusola Odumosu, noted that the NAOSNP is an Association to reckon with, adding that he was elated to be considered for the honours.
In his paper delivered by DCC Odumosu, Audi remarked that the Corps has been repositioned to tackle crime and criminal elements headlong, highlighting that it is winning the war against vandalisation and other sundry offences.
The lofty awards recipients were honoured during the Association’s Security Conference and Awards event held at the NECA House with the theme A Nation Under Siege: Activating Technology and Local Intelligence to Solve Conundrum.
The event witnessed the presentation of papers on the way forward for a violent-crime-free Nigeria with two former Inspector General of Police, Mr Mike Okiro and MD Abubakar as keynote speakers in addition to panel discussion featuring established security practitioners and experts including Mr Afolabi Oke of Infoswift, Matthew Ibadin, NSCDC’s Seun Abolurin, Cynthia Gregg, DSP Edafe Bright, and Ibiba, who stood in for the NDLEA chairman, Buba Marwa.
Burkina Faso has released Nigerian soldiers who were detained after their aircraft made a forced landing in the Sahelian country earlier this month, Nigerian officials said.
In a statement, Alkasim Abdulkadir, Tuggar’s spokesperson, said both sides resolved the matter amicably and secured the release of the Nigerian Air Force pilots and crew.
The soldiers had been held for nearly two weeks after the Confederation of Sahel States (AES) described the aircraft’s landing as an “unfriendly act” carried out in defiance of international law.
The Nigerian Air Force, however, said the crew encountered a technical issue that required a precautionary landing in Bobo-Dioulasso, the nearest available airfield. It said the landing complied with standard safety procedures and international aviation protocols.
The Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA), Farouk Ahmed, has resigned following a meeting with President Bola Tinubu amid corruption allegations.
Tinubu, on Wednesday, summoned Ahmed to the Presidential Villa in Abuja, following allegations of economic sabotage and corruption.
Also caught in the web of resignation was the CEO of the Nigeria Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC), Gbenga Komolafe, according to a statement on Wednesday by Bayo Onanuga, special adviser to the president on information and strategy.
Tinubu was said to have nominated successors to the senate for approval.
“Tinubu has asked the Senate to approve the nominations of two new chief executives for the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA) and the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC),” the statement reads.
“The requests followed the resignation of Engineer Farouk Ahmed of the NMDPRA and Gbenga Komolafe of the NUPRC.
“Both officials were appointed in 2021 by former President Buhari to lead the two regulatory agencies created by the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA).
“To fill these positions, President Tinubu has written to the Senate, requesting expedited confirmation of Oritsemeyiwa Amanorisewo Eyesan as CEO of NUPRC and Engineer Saidu Aliyu Mohammed as CEO of NMDPRA.”
Onanuga said the two nominees are seasoned professionals in the oil and gas industry.
The Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA), Engr. Farouk Ahmed, has responded to recent claims regarding the financing of his children’s education and his integrity in office, insisting that the allegations are misleading and ill-timed.
Ahmed said the allegations “necessitated this response, not because I fear scrutiny of my finances, which I welcome, but because the timing and nature of these claims demand context that only three decades of public service can provide.”
Ahmed highlighted his career in Nigeria’s petroleum sector, which began in 1991, noting that he rose through merit rather than political patronage.
He recalled his experience across technical divisions, crude oil marketing, gas supply monitoring, and downstream operations, stressing that his decisions have always been guided by Nigeria’s national interest.
“I spent my formative years in the technical divisions, where decisions are measured not by political expediency but by engineering precision and market realities,” he said.
He further outlined his rise to General Manager of the Crude Oil Marketing Division in 2012 and later Deputy Director in 2015, before being appointed NMDPRA Chief Executive in 2021.
On assuming the role, Ahmed said, he understood the challenges of implementing reforms under the Petroleum Industry Act, acknowledging that enforcing transparency in a sector long characterised by opacity would inevitably meet resistance.
Addressing the allegations about his children’s education, Ahmed said the claim that he spent $5 million on their Swiss schooling was misleading. “Three of my four children received substantial merit-based scholarships ranging from 40% to 65% of tuition costs, verifiable information are available to any authorised investigation,” he said, adding that contributions from his late father, a Northern Nigerian businessman, further supported the education costs.
He added: “When scholarships, family contributions, and my own savings accumulated over three decades are properly accounted for, my personal financial obligation was entirely consistent with someone of my professional standing and length of service.”
Ahmed confirmed that his annual compensation of approximately N48 million, including allowances, is publicly documented, and that he has submitted detailed asset declarations to the Code of Conduct Bureau throughout his career.
The CEO also linked the timing of the allegations to recent regulatory actions taken by NMDPRA.
“These allegations resurface precisely when NMDPRA has enforced quality standards revealing substandard petroleum products in the market, implemented stricter licensing requirements, and insisted on transparent pricing mechanisms that eliminate opacity benefiting certain market players. This timing is not coincidental,” Ahmed said.
He defended the authority’s import licensing decisions, emphasizing that they comply with Section 7 of the Petroleum Industry Act, which mandates supply security and prevention of scarcity.
“Granting import licenses when domestic supply proves insufficient is not sabotage, it is our legal duty,” he said.
Ahmed invited formal investigations into his finances and tenure, stating: “I formally and publicly request the Code of Conduct Bureau to conduct comprehensive review of all my asset declarations since 1991, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission to examine all my financial transactions and sources of income, and the National Assembly to exercise its oversight function regarding any allegations of regulatory compromise during my tenure. I will cooperate fully, provide all documentation, and answer all questions under oath if required.”
Concluding, Ahmed reaffirmed his commitment to regulatory independence and transparency.
“Three decades of service to Nigeria’s petroleum sector have taught me that integrity is tested not in comfortable moments but when powerful interests demand compromise. My response is simple: investigate thoroughly, examine every claim, scrutinize every transaction. My record both financial and professional will withstand any legitimate inquiry.”
