Nigeria’s foremost entrepreneur, Femi Otedola, has urged President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to make public the full report of the Aigboje Aig-Imoukhuede panel on the controversial fuel subsidy regime under former President Goodluck Jonathan.
Otedola, said Nigerians deserved to know the truth about the Petroleum Subsidy Fund (PSF) scheme and those who looted public funds.
“I implore President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to release the full Aigboje Aig-Imoukhuede report on subsidy fraud as Nigerians deserve to know the truth,” he said. “Let the report be made public so the real subsidy thieves can be unmasked.”
His call came amid allegations by Umar Sani, a former media aide to ex-Vice President Namadi Sambo, who accused Otedola of benefiting from the subsidy regime through his company, Zenon Petroleum and Gas Ltd.
Reacting, Otedola announced he had instructed his lawyers to file a ₦1 billion defamation suit against Sani. He stressed that Zenon Petroleum never traded in Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) — the only product subsidised under the PSF — but solely imported diesel, which had been deregulated long before the subsidy scheme.
“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?” Otedola queried.
He recalled that, as a member of Jonathan’s Economic Team, he was the whistleblower who first alerted the former president and the National Assembly to the subsidy fraud. He said his action led to legislative probes and the eventual unravelling of the multi-trillion-naira scam.
Otedola also addressed the 2012 sting operation involving former House of Representatives member Farouk Lawan, explaining that the funds he handed over were part of a Department of State Services operation that ultimately led to Lawan’s conviction for bribery.
On his past debt exposure to the Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria (AMCON), the billionaire said he had long settled his obligations by surrendering assets worth hundreds of billions of naira under a court-approved settlement, which AMCON publicly commended.
He emphasised he would not allow anyone to distort the facts or tarnish his reputation. “Because of these deliberate lies and unfounded allegations, I have instructed my lawyers to file a ₦1 billion libel suit against Umar Sani,” Otedola stated.
The businessman maintained that he had “nothing to hide,” insisting those who benefitted from subsidy fraud should be unmasked.
