Billionaire businessman Femi Otedola has called on President Bola Tinubu to make public the full report of the Aigboje Aig-Imoukhuede panel on fuel subsidy fraud, insisting that Nigerians deserve to know those who looted billions under the controversial scheme.
Gatekeepers News reports that in a statement on Sunday, Otedola said:
“I implore President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to release the full Aigboje Aig-Imoukhuede report on subsidy fraud as Nigerians deserve to know the truth. It is on record that the Presidency at the time called on the late EFCC Chairman, Ibrahim Lamorde, to halt the investigation. Let the report be made public so the real subsidy thieves can be unmasked.”
Otedola’s comments came in response to allegations by Umar Sani, a former Special Adviser on Media to ex-Vice President Namadi Sambo, who accused him of benefitting from the subsidy regime through his company, Zenon Petroleum and Gas Ltd.
Sani alleged that Otedola controlled up to 90 per cent of diesel imports and 40 per cent of other petroleum products at the height of the subsidy programme, claiming he profited immensely from the system he now condemns.
Otedola dismissed the claims as false and defamatory, announcing a ₦1 billion libel suit against Sani.
“My attention has been drawn to a mischievous and malicious publication attempting to twist facts and drag my name into disrepute. Zenon Petroleum and Gas Limited was wholly an importer and trader of diesel, which was already deregulated and not covered by subsidy. How then can anyone accuse Zenon of impropriety under the subsidy regime?” he said.
He maintained that he was, in fact, the whistleblower who first alerted then-President Goodluck Jonathan about massive fraud in subsidy claims. According to him, when the Minister of Petroleum denied the allegations, he escalated the matter to Senator Bukola Saraki, whose intervention triggered the National Assembly probe.
Otedola recounted how the House of Representatives’ subsidy probe, led by Farouk Lawan, turned into an “extortion racket,” leading to a sting operation in which he collaborated with the Department of State Services (DSS).
“The money was provided by the DSS, duly marked, and handed over to me. I then gave it to Farouk Lawan in line with the sting operation. That is on record. To twist that carefully documented operation into an indictment against me is laughable. You may be aware that Hon. Lawan was subsequently convicted and sentenced to five years for bribery.”
On his past financial troubles, Otedola said Sani also misrepresented facts about his dealings with the Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria (AMCON). He explained that after the 2008 global financial meltdown, he voluntarily surrendered assets worth hundreds of billions of naira to settle his obligations — a move AMCON publicly praised.
“It is on record that AMCON commended my approach and told other debtors to follow my example. Court records are there for anyone to investigate. I even addressed this matter in my book, Making It Big, which was recently published,” he said.
Otedola stressed that he would not allow his reputation to be tarnished by “half-baked stories.”
“Because of these deliberate lies and unfounded allegations, 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. I have nothing to hide and I have always acted in the interest of truth and accountability. Those who benefited from subsidy fraud know themselves. I will not sit back and allow falsehood to be written into history.”
