Billionaire Femi Otedola has denied fuel subsidy fraud allegations, calling them “malicious lies,” and has filed a ₦1bn libel suit against Umar Sani while urging Tinubu to release the subsidy probe report
Otedola Slams Subsidy Fraud Allegations, Files N1bn Suit Against Umar Sani
Nigerian billionaire businessman, Femi Otedola, has vehemently denied allegations linking him to the multibillion-naira fuel subsidy fraud investigated during the administration of former President Goodluck Jonathan.
In a strongly worded statement released at the weekend, Otedola described the claims made by Umar Sani, former Special Adviser on Media to ex-Vice President Namadi Sambo, as “malicious lies rooted in ignorance and mischief.” He revealed that his legal team has already been instructed to file a ₦1 billion libel suit against Sani to protect his reputation.
Recalling his role in exposing corruption within the subsidy regime, Otedola said:
“I was among the first to alert President Jonathan and former Senate President Bukola Saraki to the monumental fraud in the Petroleum Subsidy Fund (PSF) scheme. How can I be accused of benefitting from the same fraud I exposed?”
The billionaire clarified that his company, Zenon Petroleum and Gas Limited, never dealt in Premium Motor Spirit (PMS), the only product eligible for subsidy claims, but was strictly a diesel importer and trader. “Zenon Petroleum held over 90% of the diesel market share but never traded in PMS. It is shocking that someone like Umar Sani… could display such ignorance of industry basics in public,” he stressed.
Otedola further urged President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to release the suppressed Aigboje Aig-Imoukhuede panel report on the subsidy regime under Jonathan, saying Nigerians deserve to know the real culprits.
“I implore President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to release the full report so that the real subsidy thieves can be unmasked,” he said.
He also recounted how his whistleblowing attracted retaliation from subsidy profiteers, who allegedly manipulated the House of Representatives ad hoc committee led by Farouk Lawan. Otedola explained that he worked with the DSS in a sting operation against Lawan, which led to the lawmaker’s conviction for bribery.
“To twist that carefully documented sting operation into an indictment against me is laughable and only exposes Sani’s ignorance,” Otedola added.
Responding to insinuations about his dealings with AMCON, the businessman admitted that the 2008 global financial crisis left him with debt exposure, but stressed that he voluntarily surrendered assets worth hundreds of billions of naira under a court-supervised settlement.
“AMCON itself publicly commended my approach and urged other debtors to follow my example. Court records exist to confirm this, and I also documented it in my recently released book Making It Big,” he said.
Otedola maintained that he would not allow anyone to tarnish his reputation. “Because of these deliberate lies and unfounded claims, I have instructed my lawyers to file a ₦1 billion libel suit against Umar Sani. People must learn that reputations are not to be toyed with for cheap propaganda,” he declared.
