Billionaire businessman, Femi Otedola, has filed a N1 billion libel suit against Umar Sani, former media aide to ex-Vice President Namadi Sambo, over allegations linking him to the fuel subsidy fraud during the Goodluck Jonathan administration.
The dispute arose after Sani accused Otedola of benefitting from questionable subsidy deals, describing the businessman as “hypocritical” and guilty of “conveniently rewriting history.”
Otedola, in a statement released Sunday night, dismissed the allegations as “malicious lies,” insisting that his company, Zenon Petroleum, never traded in petrol and could not have accessed subsidy funds. He maintained that he blew the whistle on the subsidy scam, alerting both former President Jonathan and then Senate President Bukola Saraki.
“Because of these deliberate lies and unfounded allegations, I have instructed my lawyers to file a N1 billion libel suit against Umar Sani,” Otedola declared, warning that he would not allow his reputation to be dragged into falsehoods.
The businessman also called on President Bola Tinubu to release the full report of the Aigboje Aig-Imoukhuede panel on subsidy fraud, stressing that Nigerians deserve to know the identities of the true beneficiaries of the massive scam.
Otedola further clarified that Zenon Petroleum dealt only in diesel — a deregulated product outside the subsidy regime — and not Premium Motor Spirit (PMS), the sole product covered by the Petroleum Subsidy Fund. He accused Sani of twisting facts to mislead the public.
Recalling how his whistleblowing triggered the National Assembly probe, Otedola noted that attempts to implicate him were the result of “corruption fighting back,” citing the conviction of former House Committee chairman Farouk Lawan, who was caught in a DSS sting operation.
He also dismissed Sani’s claims on his dealings with AMCON, pointing out that he had fully settled his obligations through asset forfeiture, a process which AMCON itself publicly commended.
Otedola concluded by urging the government to unmask the real perpetrators of the subsidy fraud, insisting: “Those who benefitted from subsidy fraud know themselves. I will not sit back and allow falsehood to be written into history.”