Nigerian billionaire businessman, Femi Otedola, has strongly denied allegations linking him to the petroleum subsidy fraud.
He describes the claims made by Umar Sani, former media aide to ex-Vice President Namadi Sambo, as “false, baseless, and malicious.”
In a statement, Otedola clarified that his company, Zenon Petroleum and Gas Limited, was strictly a diesel importer and never dealt in Premium Motor Spirit (PMS).
PMS is the only product eligible for subsidy under the Petroleum Subsidy Fund (PSF).
“Diesel was deregulated long before the PSF. How then can Zenon be accused of benefiting from it?” he queried.
The businessman maintained that he was, in fact, a whistleblower who first alerted former President Goodluck Jonathan about subsidy fraud.
This led to high-profile probes in both the Senate and the House of Representatives.
Also, he further recalled his collaboration with the Department of State Security (DSS) on a sting operation that exposed an extortion attempt by the Farouk Lawan-led House committee.
Lawan was subsequently convicted and jailed for bribery.
“To twist that documented operation into an indictment against me is laughable,” Otedola said.
He calls on President Bola Tinubu to release the full Aigboje Aig-Imoukhuede report on subsidy fraud to expose the true culprits.
He also dismissed allegations of misconduct in the Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria (AMCON) process.
Also, he explains that he had fully resolved his obligations after the 2008 global financial crisis by forfeiting assets worth hundreds of billions of naira.
According to him, AMCON publicly commended his transparent approach.
Citing reputational damage, Otedola revealed he has instructed his lawyers to file a ₦1 billion libel suit against Umar Sani.
People Also Read: Femi Otedola Becomes Amazon’s No. 1 Best-Selling Author
He stresses that propaganda should never be allowed to rewrite history.
“I have nothing to hide and will go to every extent to protect my name,” he declared.
