Otedola also wondered how he could be accused of benefiting from a subsidy scam he blew the whistle on.
By Kehinde Okeowo
Business mogul and executive chairman of Geregu Power, Femi Otedola, has directed his lawyers to file a N1 billion libel suit against former presidential aide, Umar Sani.
Otedola made this known in a statement he released on Sunday night..
The development followed claims by Sani, that Otedola benefited from the fuel subsidy fraud under the Goodluck Jonathan-led administration.
The former aide had while responding to Otedola’s allegation that “over N2 trillion was siphoned through questionable subsidy claims under the Jonathan administration”, alleged that “Otedola himself enjoyed enormous privileges during the era”.
Sani, who was an aide to Vice President Namadi Sambo, also accused the former chairman of Forte Oil of engaging in “hypocritical, selective, and convenient rewriting of history”.
Reacting to the allegations, Otedola described Sani’s claims as “malicious lies”.
He also wondered how he could be accused of benefiting from the same scam he blew the whistle on.
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While dismissing the attempt 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.
He further said he has briefed his lawyers to sue Sani for the alleged defamatory remarks.
He said, “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.”
Continuing, Otedola 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,” the businessman added.
