By Adesina Soyooye
A former Presidential Aide in the office of former Vice President, Namadi Sambo, under the President Goodluck Jonathan Government, and billionaire businessman, Femi Otedola, have clashed over the notorious and corruption- ridden oil subsidy that has continued to dug the country.
In response to Otedola’s claims on the alleged unprecedented fraud which went on under the Jonathan Administration and the whistle-blowing role he claimed to have played, Sani asked Otedola to tell his story to the marines, and dismissed it as kettle calling the pot black.
In a counter response, Otedola insisted that he was never involved in the oil subsidy scandal, but instead acted as a whistle blower. He said he was the one who tipped off President Jonathan on the rot that allegedlly went on, but regretted that the Minister for Petroleum at the time, Diezani Alison-Madueke, insisted they were false.
To prove how scandalised he is over Sani’s claim, Otedola has sued him for One Billion Naira.
Following is Uma Sani’s response that angered Otedola.
RESPONSE TO FEMI OTEDOLA’S SUBSIDY FRAUD CLAIM UNDER JONATHAN
“Billionaire businessman Femi Otedola recently revisited Nigeria’s controversial fuel subsidy regime, asserting that corruption remains rife in the system. He made this claim while weighing in on the dispute btw the Dangote Petroleum Refinery and fuel marketers.
“In his intervention last week, Femi, an ex-major player in the downstream petroleum sector, accused members of the Depot and Petroleum Products Marketers Association of Nigeria (DAPPMAN), a body he claimed he founded, of sustaining a corrupt business model built on subsidy fraud and obsolete infrastructure.
“What stood out, however, was Femi’s allegation that “over N2 trillion was siphoned through questionable subsidy claims under the Jonathan administration.” Whether this was meant to score cheap political points or ride the corruption chant, the intent to single out one administration for rebuke was clear.
“While no one should defend corruption, it is important to respond with factual clarity and historical accuracy. His claims are hypocritical, selective, and reek of a convenient rewriting of history.
“The subsidy regime predates Jonathan and lasted decades. It was entrenched under Obasanjo, continued under Yar’Adua, remained during Jonathan’s time, and persisted under Buhari with even greater opacity. To lay the blame solely on Jonathan is misleading, especially as Otedola himself enjoyed enormous privileges during the era.
“At the height of the regime, his company, Zenon Petroleum and Gas Ltd, was one of the biggest importers of diesel and other products, controlling as much as 90% of diesel imports and up to 40% of others. The same system he now condemns was one he benefited from immensely.
“Indeed, subsidy claims were riddled with fraud. That is why Jonathan instituted the Aigboje Aig-Imoukhuede-led forensic audit panel to unmask the exploiters of the system, including politically connected operators. This was part of the crucial reforms Jonathan initiated to sanitise the sector.
“He also moved towards privatisation and deregulation, but vested interests, politicians, opportunistic civil society groups, and profiteers sabotaged the effort. The Occupy Nigeria protests of 2012, used to frustrate deregulation, were partly funded by those who stood to lose from reform. For Femi to now feign moral superiority is disingenuous.
“Zenon was among the companies spotlighted during both the Imoukhuede panel’s work and the House of Reps Ad-hoc Committee on Subsidy Payments, chaired by Hon. Farouk Lawan. Nigerians also remember the Otedola-Lawan scandal, in which Femi admitted giving marked money to Lawan, later claiming it was a sting operation. Whether this was genuine or a tactic to evade indictment remains debatable.
“Given his proximity to power and central role in the subsidy ecosystem, Femi knows more about the scam than he admits. His comments, while critical of corruption, appear more as image-laundering trying to project himself as a reformer rather than the enabler and beneficiary records show him to be.
“Rather than full exposure, Otedola engages in selective revelation, pointing fingers while shielding his own complicity. What he has offered is less a revelation than an inadvertent confession a glimpse into the dark underbelly of a subsidy regime he thrived in.
“Any true effort to expose corruption in the petroleum sector is welcome, but it must be made in honesty, full disclosure, and historical accuracy. His attempt to cast himself as a whistleblower rings hollow against the facts of his involvement.
“The public merits the whole truth, not curated narratives. If Femi truly wants to help, he should come clean, name names, and support a full independent inquiry into the subsidy regime not just under Jonathan but across all regimes, including those he profited from. He should also explain his dealings with AMCON.
“Until then, his accusations amount to nothing more than a pot calling the kettle black.”
Otedola’s One Billion Naira Suit
In suing Uma, Otedola emphasised that Zenon Petroleum and Gas Limited, his company, never took parr in the subsidy scheme.
He described Umar’s claims as “mischievous and malicious” for tying his name to Nigeria’s fuel subsidy fraud. He said he was never complicit.
Otedola, in a press statement he issued on Monday, dismissed Sani’s allegations as “false, baseless, and a shameless attempt to rewrite history.”
“I am the whistleblower who exposed the monumental fraud that shook the country during former President Goodluck Jonathan’s administration”, Otedola emphasized.
He distanced his company, Zenon Petroleum and Gas Limited, from the subsidy scheme.
He said: “Zenon Petroleum was wholly an importer and trader of diesel, which was already deregulated. We never traded in Premium Motor Spirit (PMS), the only product eligible under the subsidy regime. So how can anyone accuse Zenon of subsidy fraud?
“It is shocking that someone who once held public office would display such ignorance of basic industry facts just to mislead the public.”
Narrating how he blew the lid off the scandal, he said he was a member of President Jonathan’s Economic Team when he discovered widespread fraud in the Petroleum Subsidy Fund (PSF).
“I am the one who first alerted President Jonathan to the monumental fraud. When he confronted the then Minister of Petroleum, she denied it. Determined to stop the bleeding, I reached out to 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.
“If I was complicit in subsidy theft, would I be the one to blow the whistle on myself? That alone exposes the mischief in Umar Sani’s publication.
“When it became public knowledge that I blew the whistle, some of the perpetrators fought back. Farouk Lawan and his committee were being manipulated by subsidy thieves and turned the probe into an extortion racket.
“I petitioned the authorities and worked with the DSS in a sting operation. The marked money was provided by the DSS and handed over to me before I gave it to Lawan under surveillance. He was later convicted and sentenced for bribery. The facts are on record.
“Nigerians deserve to know the truth. Let the report be made public so the real subsidy thieves can be unmasked.
“My loans were sold to AMCON, and I surrendered assets worth hundreds of billions of Naira under a court-ordered settlement. AMCON itself commended my approach and asked other debtors to emulate me.”
Stung by Sani’s allegations which he described as deliberate falsehoods, Otedola said he had instructed his lawyers to file a ₦1 billion libel suit against Sani. He said:
“People must learn that reputations are not toys for cheap propaganda. I will pursue this to the very end. he warned.
“Read my book Making It Big, study the facts, and stop disgracing yourselves with ignorance.
“I have nothing to hide. Those who benefitted from subsidy fraud know themselves. I will not sit back and allow falsehood to be written into history”, he warned Sani.
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