Femi Otedola, one of Nigeria’s biggest tycoons, is hauling Umar Sani, a former media aide to ex-Vice President Namadi Sambo, to court with a N1 billion libel suit. Sani claimed Otedola made bank from fuel subsidy payments during Goodluck Jonathan’s presidency, and Otedola’s not having it.
In a blistering statement released Sunday, Otedola called Sani’s accusations “malicious nonsense” and demanded the government release the full Aigboje Aig-Imoukhuede report from the 2012 N2 trillion subsidy probe to name the real culprits. He stressed that his company, Zenon Petroleum and Gas Limited, only traded diesel long deregulated and not covered by the Petroleum Subsidy Fund (PSF) and never dealt in Premium Motor Spirit (PMS), the only fuel eligible for subsidies.
Otedola didn’t mince words. He said he was the one who blew the whistle on the subsidy scam, first alerting Jonathan when the petroleum minister brushed it off. Undeterred, he took it to Senator Bukola Saraki, which led to a Senate probe and a full-blown House investigation. “Why would I expose myself if I was guilty?” he asked, slamming Sani’s claims as either clueless or a deliberate smear.
He also set the record straight on the Farouk Lawan bribery scandal. Otedola said subsidy fraudsters tried to pin him down through the House probe committee. When their blackmail got out of hand, he worked with the Department of State Security (DSS) on a sting, using marked cash to trap Lawan, who later got a five-year sentence. On his 2008 financial troubles, Otedola admitted to racking up debts during the global crash but said he settled them by handing over assets worth hundreds of billions, a move AMCON publicly praised.
Otedola called on President Tinubu to make the Aig-Imoukhuede report public, noting it was shelved by the EFCC’s late Ibrahim Lamorde. “Nigerians need to know who the real thieves are,” he said, vowing to sue Sani to protect his reputation and send a message to others. For the full story, he pointed to his book, Making It Big.
Otedola’s Key Points:
– No Subsidy Cash: Zenon stuck to diesel, with a 90% market share—PMS wasn’t their game.
– Whistleblower Cred: Tipped off Jonathan and Saraki, sparking the subsidy probe.
– Lawan Takedown: Worked a DSS sting to catch Lawan red-handed.
– AMCON Debts: Cleared massive debts with assets; AMCON gave him props.
– Show Me the Report: Wants the Aig-Imoukhuede findings out to clear his name.
– Court Time: N1bn suit to shut down Sani’s “lies.”
The spat comes as Otedola’s been trying to broker peace in the Dangote Refinery feud with marketers, but Sani’s throwback accusations have made this personal.
