Billionaire businessman Femi Otedola has rejected claims linking him to Nigeria’s fuel subsidy fraud, describing the allegations by Umar Sani, former media aide to ex-Vice President Namadi Sambo, as false and malicious.
Otedola clarified that his company, Zenon Petroleum and Gas Limited, never participated in the Petroleum Subsidy Fund (PSF) scheme, as it only traded in diesel, a deregulated product outside the subsidy framework. He noted that Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) was the only eligible product under the subsidy system.
He further recalled that, as a member of former President Goodluck Jonathan’s Economic Team, he was the whistleblower who first raised alarm about the fraud, prompting investigations by the National Assembly. “If I were complicit in subsidy theft, would I be the one to raise the alarm and blow the whistle on myself?” Otedola asked.
Addressing the 2012 incident involving former lawmaker Farouk Lawan, Otedola said the funds he handed over were part of a Department of State Services sting operation that later secured Lawan’s conviction for bribery.
The businessman also urged President Bola Tinubu to release the full Aigboje Aig-Imoukhuede report on subsidy fraud, insisting Nigerians deserve to know the real beneficiaries of the scheme.
On past financial dealings, Otedola acknowledged his debt settlement with the Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria (AMCON) after the 2008 global meltdown, stressing that he fully repaid obligations by surrendering assets worth hundreds of billions of naira, a move AMCON publicly commended.
In response to the fresh allegations, Otedola has filed a ₦1 billion libel suit against Sani, warning that reputations cannot be toyed with for political propaganda. He emphasized he has nothing to hide and vowed not to allow history to be distorted.
