KEY POINTS
- Otedola rejects allegations of subsidy fraud involvement.
- Says Zenon traded only diesel, not subsidized petrol.
- Claims he also blew the whistle on subsidy fraud under Jonathan.
Nigerian billionaire Femi Otedola has rejected allegations tying him to the country’s multibillion-naira fuel subsidy fraud, dismissing them as “false, baseless, and a shameless attempt to pander to lies.”
The chairman of Zenon Petroleum and Gas Limited was reacting to an article by Umar Sani, a former aide to ex-Vice President Namadi Sambo, who accused him of benefitting from the controversial subsidy regime under President Goodluck Jonathan’s administration.
Diesel, not petrol
In a statement posted on X Monday, Otedola said his company never participated in the subsidy scheme because it dealt exclusively in diesel, a deregulated product, while only Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) was eligible for subsidy claims.
“Zenon Petroleum and Gas Limited was wholly an importer and trader of diesel with a market share in excess of 90 percent. We never traded in Premium Motor Spirit and as such could not have claimed for subsidy under the Petroleum Subsidy Fund scheme,” Otedola said.
Whistleblower, not beneficiary
The billionaire stressed that rather than benefitting from subsidy fraud, he was one of the first to raise the alarm during Jonathan’s tenure. According to him, he alerted the former president and later informed Senator Bukola Saraki, who escalated the matter to the Senate and triggered further probes in the House of Representatives.
“If I was complicit in subsidy theft, would I be the one to raise the alarm and blow the whistle on myself?” Otedola asked.
The Umar Sani claims
Sani, in his article, accused Otedola of hypocrisy, claiming Zenon Petroleum controlled up to 90 percent of diesel imports and 40 percent of other fuels during the era. He also faulted Otedola’s claim that more than ₦2 trillion was siphoned under Jonathan, calling it “selective and misleading.”
The dispute comes as Otedola has recently waded into the clash between the Dangote Petroleum Refinery and fuel marketers, where he accused members of the Depot and Petroleum Products Marketers Association of Nigeria (DAPPMAN) of subsidy fraud and reliance on outdated practices.
