There is a saying that “there is no permanent friend in politics”. The same could be said of the business industry where every stakeholder wants to remain at the top, “no matter whose ox is gaud”.
So, did you know that there has been a silent feud between business tycoon Femi Otedola and Transcorp’s shareholding chair Tony Elumelu?
Femi Otedola, the executive chairman, Geregu Power Plc, and Tony Elumelu, chairman, Transnational Corporation of Nigeria (Transcorp) may have been friends for long, they have been enemies for longer.
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With what was captured from Otedola’s statement that marked his first public intervention in the recent battle for the soul of Transcorp, you could see the feud.
Otedola cited many instances where he was backstabbed by Elumelu, dating back to over 15 years.
Story So Far
Explaining himself Otedola said “Elumelu betrayed him in 2008 when he went bankrupt”.
Otedola revealed that he became Chairman of Transcorp Hotel in 2007 with a shareholding of 5% and unknowingly Tony gradually started buying shares quietly.
So during Otedola’s bankrupt state, Elumelu used his shares in UBA to service the interest on his loans “and he also took over my shares in Africa Finance Corporation, where I was the largest shareholder”.
Furthermore, Otedola revealed, “Elumelu deceitfully tried to use an American firm to acquire my shares in Transcorp”.
“The revelation of this prompted me to resign as Chairman of the hotel”.
Shortly afterwards, the business tycoon allegedly told his friend about his plan to invest in the Ughelli power plant and Elumelu once again, quietly went ahead to outbid him in the acquisition of the plant.
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“The Ughelli power plant situation happened in 2012, according to his narrative.”
What is however not known is if the Transcorp chair will respond to this staggering revelations that paint him as a person of questionable character.
But one thing is sure and that is the fact that the battle of deep war chest is far from being over.
A few weeks ago, Otedola’s exit from Transcorp crashed the company shares and left investors counting their loss.
