Faruk Abdullahi: Energy Consultant, Financial Analyst and Entrepreneur

Faruk Abdullahi is a distinguished energy consultant, accomplished financial analyst, and visionary entrepreneur with over 15 years of diverse experience spanning energy, finance, information technology, and international business consultancy. Renowned for his leadership in Nigeria’s Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) revolution, Faruk is a leading advocate for sustainable energy adoption and economic transformation in Nigeria.

Advocacy in Energy and CNG Leadership

Faruk Abdullahi is a vocal and proactive proponent of Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) as an alternative fuel in Nigeria. He frequently features on national television, using his media platform to passionately advocate for the widespread adoption of CNG due to its environmental sustainability and economic affordability. In May 2025, he led a delegation of CNG conversion center operators to the Presidential Initiative on Compressed Natural Gas (PCNGi), where he praised President Bola Ahmed Tinubu GCFR for his visionary leadership in the energy transition space.

Under Faruk’s leadership and frontline advocacy, the CNG initiative has attracted over $500 million in investments, created over 10,000 direct and 90,000 indirect jobs, and strengthened public-private partnerships in the energy sector. His work in this area positions him as a strategic voice and policy influencer in Nigeria’s quest for a cleaner and more self-reliant energy future.

Financial Expertise and Policy Analysis

In addition to his influence in the energy sector, Faruk is a respected financial expert and public policy analyst. He is widely recognized for his insightful commentary on Nigeria’s monetary policies, particularly during pivotal national moments such as the 2023 general elections. He was a strong critic of the naira redesign and associated cash scarcity, which he argued was poorly timed and detrimental to the average Nigerian.

Faruk also strongly advocates for exchange rate unification, a strategy he believes will eliminate market inefficiencies and attract foreign investment. Furthermore, he is a vocal supporter of policies encouraging the consumption of locally manufactured goods and services, positioning this approach as a cornerstone for improving Nigeria’s non-oil exports and foreign exchange inflows.

Entrepreneurship and Corporate Leadership

Faruk’s professional journey is a remarkable story of resilience, rising from modest beginnings to national and international influence. He is the Chairman of Ultimate Spectrum Ltd, a diversified firm with operations in energy, finance, and IT. He is also the Pioneer Managing Director of Farkim Oil & Gas Lt. He sits on the board of Kriskos & Associates, an immigration investment firm with a footprint across the Middle East and Europe.

His corporate experience includes serving as Chief Compliance Officer and Service Executive at Innovate 1Pay Ltd (Kano Branch)—a fintech company involved in foreign exchange operations in partnership with the Central Bank of Nigeria. He also made his mark in Dubai, where he rose from salesman to Executive Director at Metropolitan Insurance within a single year.

Academic and Professional Qualifications

Faruk holds a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration (Actuarial Science) and a Diploma in Mathematics from Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria. He further earned a Master’s in Finance from Heriot-Watt University, Duba,  and another Master’s in International Affairs and Diplomacy from ABU, Zaria.

He is a Fellow of the:

– International Organization of Management Professionals (FIOMP)

– Chartered Institute of Loan and Risk Management (FCILRM),

– Institute of Credit Administration (FICA).

He also holds multiple certifications in forensic accounting, finance, and risk management, reinforcing his multidisciplinary expertise.

Faruk Abdullahi exemplifies a rare blend of visionary leadership, technical expertise, and patriotic dedication. His influence across Nigeria’s energy, financial, and entrepreneurial landscapes continues to grow, inspiring a generation of professionals and policymakers to pursue sustainable solutions, sound economic reforms, and impactful ventures. With an unwavering commitment to national development, Faruk remains a trailblazer in shaping a resilient and prosperous Nigerian future.

My company paid N450bn in taxes in 2024 – Dangote tells Pres. Tinubu

Nigeria’s reforms have put the country on the global economic map

By Abdul Samad Rabiu 

As my country steadies itself, Britain, its Western allies and their companies should deepen this partnership

As ghosts of the 1930s haunt the global outlook, the scramble for trade deals has seized control of government agendas. The United States has leveraged its “tariff war” to secure better terms, driving both friend and foe to the negotiating table. British deals with the US and India have provided some refuge from the prevailing gloom.

Less reported – but with similar potential – was last year’s signing of the Enhanced and Trade and Investment Partnership (ETIP) between the UK and Nigeria , the former’s first such agreement with an African nation. Quiet in its arrival, the pact may yet echo louder.

As someone who has built multinational businesses across Africa, I know the vast opportunity the continent offers, and Nigeria in particular, which alone accounts for a fifth of sub-Saharan Africa’s 1.2 billion people. But I also understand the limitations we have often placed on ourselves when it comes to securing investment.

Lowering barriers to trade is crucial, and for that Britain’s ETIP looks prescient. However, investment and business potential will remain discounted as long as African nations cling to state intervention – from subsidies and price controls to exchange rate distortions – all of which have consistently bred dysfunction and economic instability. Fortunately, Nigeria has now decisively turned a corner, embracing market economics under a liberalising government.

In Morocco this week, Foreign Secretary David Lammy indicated Britain’s position is shifting too. Setting out his strategy for Africa, he said British policy must transition from aid to investment. “Trade-not-aid” is no new idea – but it is the first time a British government has so clearly echoed the demand the African continent has voiced for years.

In making that shift, Nigeria is taking the lead for a continent to follow. So many Nigerian administrations I have known have been hostage to economic events, doubling down time and again on state intervention rather than having the conviction to reform. This administration is proving different. After two years of difficult reforms, Nigeria – under President Bola Tinubu – is now poised to fulfil the promise of its vast natural resources, rapidly growing population of over 200 million people, and strategic coastal location along the Gulf of Guinea.

First, the Tinubu administration removed a crippling fuel subsidy – the most significant policy reform in years. At 25 to 30 cents per litre, petrol in Nigeria was among the cheapest in the world. But the subsidy was bankrupting the government: by 2023, it consumed over 15 per cent of the federal budget – roughly equivalent to the proportion the UK spends annually on the NHS.

When President Tinubu ditched the fuel subsidy on his first day in office, criticism quickly followed. Prices, at least for the time being, have risen. However, statistics must be understood in light of the wide-ranging distortions the subsidy created.

Officially, fuel consumption in Nigeria has dropped by 40 to 50 per cent. But that is not because Nigerians’ petrol use reduced by this amount. In reality the country was subsidising the region, with cross border fuel smugglers profiting from arbitrage. The illegal trade was so blatant that on a visit to neighbouring Niger a few years ago, then-President Mohamed Bazoum even joked about it, thanking Nigeria for the cheap fuel. Though the move was politically unpopular, the subsidy had become unsustainable. Now, spending is being redirected toward development and infrastructure – laying the foundations for long-term growth.

Second, the country has moved from a fixed to a market-determined exchange rate. Previously, only select groups could access the official rate – especially those with political connections; the rest had to rely on a more expensive parallel informal market determined by supply and demand. But selling dollars at an artificially low rate only entrenched scarcity, a problem compounded by an opaque exchange mechanism that deterred foreign investment.

Every two weeks, we used to make the 12-hour drive to Abuja to seek dollar allocations for imports – camping out at the Central Bank for three or four days. Now, I no longer need to go. I’ve met the new Governor only once in two years – because I haven’t had to. Monetary orthodoxy has finally arrived, bringing with it the liquidity that both domestic and foreign businesses depend on to smooth trade and de-risk investment.

Third, the shackles of politics are being prised from business, bringing greater certainty, fairness and stability to the landscape. Five years ago, I woke up one morning to find that the port concession for a new venture of mine had been revoked. It turned out my company was outcompeting a friend of an official of the Nigerian Ports Authority. In the end, it took then-President Buhari’s personal intervention to save the enterprise.

Had I not been politically connected, the business would have folded – along with the 4,000 jobs it provided – at a time when job creation was, and remains, Nigeria’s most urgent challenge. Today, such connections are no longer necessary. The playing field is being levelled, flattening the political ridges and dips that once skewed the game.

Many of these reforms required political courage to withstand the force of criticism. Prices rose as distortions were removed, yet the administration held firm, even as vested interests co-opted public discontent for their own ends.

Indeed, many of the benefits of reform are still to be felt by the wider public. But economic fundamentals must be fixed before that becomes possible. That lead-time often tempts market reformers to reverse course, or avoid reform altogether. Now that Nigeria has made it through the toughest phase, its direction should be clear to investors.

For Britain, the Enhanced Trade and Investment Partnership with Nigeria was a strategic bet on reform, resilience and long-term reward. Nigeria is now delivering its part of the bargain. As my country steadies itself, the UK, its Western allies – and their companies – should deepen this partnership.

_Abdul Samad Rabiu is a Nigerian businessman and philanthropist_