Nigerian businessman, Femi Otedola has slammed a N1 billion libel suit against Umar Sani, a former aide to ex-Vice President Namadi Sambo.
Otedola is angered by claims by Sani which linked him to subsidy fraud in Nigeria.
Petrol subsidy is regarded as one of the most fraudulent means through which several prominent persons have shortchanged the economy.
President Bola Tinubu upon assumption of office on May 29, 2023, announced the total removal of petrol subsidy.
Speaking recently, Sani alleged that Otedola was part of the subsidy subsidy fraud under the Goodluck Jonathan administration.
He made the claims after Otedola had asserted that "over N2 trillion was siphoned through questionable subsidy claims under the Jonathan administration".
Sani claimed that "Otedola himself enjoyed enormous privileges during the era", and accused him of engaging in "hypocritical, selective, and convenient rewriting of history".
Otedola has now taken exception to those allegations, describing them as "malicious lies".
While recalling his role in exposing the subsidy scam, Otedola said he was the first to alert former President Goodluck Jonathan and then Senate President Bukola Saraki of the fraud at the time, wondering how he could be accused of benefiting from the same scam he blew the whistle on.
Dismissing Sani’s attempts to link him with the subsidy scandal, Otedola declared that his company, Zenon Petroleum, never traded in petrol and therefore could not have accessed the subsidy funds.
Announcing his decision to sue the former presidential aide over the alleged defamatory remarks, Otedola insisted that he would not allow anyone to toy with his hard-earned reputation.
“Because of these deliberate lies and unfounded allegations, 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 and to serve as a deterrent for other mischief makers in the future. I will go to every extent that this is achieved.
“To Mr. Sani and others who peddle these half-baked stories: go and read my book Making It Big, study the facts, and stop disgracing yourselves with ignorance. I have nothing to hide and I have always acted in the interest of truth and accountability.
"Those who benefitted from subsidy fraud know themselves. I will not sit back and allow falsehood to be written into history,” Otedola said.
Continuing, the businessman appealed to President Bola Tinubu to release the full report of the Aigboje Aig-Imoukhuede panel set up during the Jonathan administration to probe the monumental petrol subsidy fraud.
According to him, Nigerians deserve to know the truth about those who looted the treasury through the fraud perpetrated under the Petroleum Subsidy Fund scheme.
“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 Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) Chairman, Ibrahim Lamorde, to halt the investigation. Let the report be made public so the real subsidy thieves can be unmasked,” Otedola said.
Sani had, while alleging that Otedola benefited from the subsidy payments, said empirical evidence showed that Otedola controlled as much as 90 per cent of diesel imports and up to 40 per cent of other products at the time.
Disputing the claim, Otedola maintained that he only sold diesel which had no subsidy at the time he controlled the market in Nigeria.
Otedola said, “My attention has been drawn to a mischievous and malicious publication written by one Umar Sani, a former Special Adviser (Media) to former Vice President Namadi Sambo, attempting to twist facts and drag my name into disrepute and allegations of complicity in the subsidy fraud.
"His insinuations are false, baseless, and a shameless attempt to pander to lies and rewrite history. Let me set the record straight for the overall benefit of the discerning public.
"Zenon Petroleum and Gas Limited was wholly an importer and trader of diesel with a market share in excess of 90 per cent, never traded in Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) and as such could not have claimed for subsidy under the Petroleum Subsidy Fund scheme. Diesel had been long deregulated even before the adoption of the PSF and did not fall under petroleum products to be claimed under the PSF regime.
“PMS was the only product that was eligible for claim under the PSF scheme in a bid by the government to make the product available and affordable to all and sundry. It is therefore shocking that someone like Umar Sani who occupied a position of authority and responsibility could display such ignorance of basic industry facts in public.
“I view this as either mischief (and taking advantage of the uneducated public) or a blatant display of gross ineptitude. If diesel did not fall under the subsidy regime, how can Umar Sani then accuse Zenon Petroleum and Gas Limited of impropriety under the subsidy regime."
Further shedding light on how the subsidy fraud was uncovered, Otedola stated that he was a member of Jonathan’s Economic Team and was the one who first alerted the then President of the fraud being perpetrated by economic saboteurs.
He added, “When he (Jonathan) called the then Minister of Petroleum, she denied it. With my strong determination to stop the economic malaise and bleeding, I called Senator Bukola Saraki and reported the fraud to him. He took it to the floor of the Senate, and from there the House of Representatives began its investigation.
“These statesmen are alive and my assertions above can be corroborated if necessary. If I was complicit in subsidy theft, would I be the one to raise the alarm and blow the whistle on myself? That alone should question the motive of Umar Sani for his most recent publication on this matter."
Otedola added that, after it emerged that he was the whistleblower on the subsidy fraud, some of the perpetrators decided to fight back by using the House Committee on the probe, headed by Farouk Lawan, to indict him without any basis.
He said, “As they always say, it's only natural for corruption to fight back. The House Committee on the subsidy probe was now being manipulated by the subsidy fraudsters and thereby turning the probe panel into an extortion racket.
"When the harassment and blackmail became incessant on my person, I petitioned the authorities and worked with the Department of State Security (DSS) in a sting operation.
“The money was provided by the DSS, duly marked, and handed over to me under security surveillance. 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 and only exposes the ignorance of Mr. Sani. You may be aware that Hon. Lawan was subsequently convicted and sentenced to five years imprisonment for bribery. The facts are very clear and public."
In the same vein, Otedola described Sani's claims of his (Otedola) involvement in the Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria, AMCON, as a demonstration of mischief and ineptitude.
The businessman stressed that he had never hidden the fact that he suffered financial losses from the global economic meltdown of 2008, which resulted in a huge debt exposure to the Nigerian financial services industry.
He explained that the loans were sold to AMCON, after which he in turn gave up his assets worth hundreds of billions of Naira to settle his obligations under a court-ordered settlement.
Accusing Sani of twisting publicly available information to mislead the public, Otedola added, "It is on record that AMCON itself publicly commended my approach and told other debtors to follow my example.
"Court records are there for anyone seeking the truth to investigate. AMCON officials from that time are also alive today to confirm the truth. I even addressed this matter in my book, ‘Making it Big’ which was recently published and released to the public."
