Otedola Denies Fuel Subsidy Fraud Allegations, Slams Ex-VP Aide With N1bn Libel Suit

Nigerian billionaire businessman, Femi Otedola, has strongly denied allegations linking him to the multibillion-naira fuel subsidy fraud probed during the administration of former President Goodluck Jonathan.

In a statement released at the weekend, Otedola described the claims made by Umar Sani, a former Special Adviser on Media to ex-Vice President Namadi Sambo, as “malicious lies rooted in ignorance and mischief.” He announced that his lawyers have already been instructed to file a N1 billion libel suit against Sani to defend his reputation.

Recalling his role in exposing the widespread fraud in Nigeria’s subsidy regime, Otedola stressed that he 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. He asked how he could be accused of benefitting from the same fraud he exposed, insisting that attempts to link him to the scam were deliberate distortions of history.

According to him, Zenon Petroleum and Gas Limited, his company, never dealt in Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) — the only product eligible for subsidy claims — but was strictly a diesel importer and trader. Diesel, he clarified, had long been deregulated and therefore fell outside the subsidy system. “Zenon Petroleum held over 90% of the diesel market share but never traded in PMS. It is shocking that someone like Umar Sani, who once held a position of authority, could display such ignorance of industry basics in public,” Otedola said.

The businessman also urged President Bola Tinubu to make public the full report of the Aigboje Aig-Imoukhuede panel, which investigated the subsidy regime under Jonathan. He claimed that Nigerians deserve to know the identities of those who truly looted public funds, adding that the report was suppressed after the then EFCC Chairman, Ibrahim Lamorde, was asked to halt investigations. “I implore President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to release the full report so that the real subsidy thieves can be unmasked,” he said.

Otedola further recounted how his whistleblowing drew retaliation from some subsidy profiteers, who manipulated the House of Representatives ad hoc committee led by Farouk Lawan. According to him, the committee turned into an extortion racket, targeting him for harassment. He explained that he cooperated with the Department of State Services (DSS) in a sting operation against Lawan, in which marked currency provided by the DSS was handed to the lawmaker under surveillance. Lawan was later convicted and sentenced to prison for bribery. “To twist that carefully documented sting operation into an indictment against me is laughable and only exposes Sani’s ignorance,” Otedola noted.

Responding to Sani’s insinuations about his involvement with the Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria (AMCON), Otedola said he had never hidden the fact that he was affected by the 2008 global financial crisis, which left him with significant debt exposure. He explained that his loans were later acquired by AMCON, and 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,” Otedola said.

The philanthropist maintained that he would not allow anyone to “toy with his hard-earned reputation” through false allegations. “Because of these deliberate lies and unfounded claims, I have instructed my lawyers to file a N1 billion libel suit against Umar Sani. People must learn that reputations are not to be toyed with for cheap propaganda,” he declared. He advised his accuser to consult factual records rather than mislead the public. “To Mr. Sani and others who peddle half-baked stories: go and read my book, study the facts, and stop disgracing yourselves with ignorance,” Otedola said.