President Goodluck Jonathan and Femi Otedola, a member of the oil subsidy racketeering cartel
The federal government of Nigeria led by Goodluck Jonathan claims siphoning of oil subsidy by members of a powerful and well-known oil cartel as one of the principal reasons for the removal of oil subsidy.
President Goodluck Jonathan and Femi Otedola, a member of the oil subsidy racketeering cartel
The federal government of Nigeria led by Goodluck Jonathan claims siphoning of oil subsidy by members of a powerful and well-known oil cartel as one of the principal reasons for the removal of oil subsidy.
The government goes on to identify the members of this cartel but develops cold feet in prosecuting and incarcerating them. Rather than discharge his constitutional obligation by protecting the weak from the strong by confronting those behind artificial fuel scarcity in the country, the president does what every wimp will do. He salutes the billionaire members of the subsidy racketeering cartel “I hail oh” and launches a ferocious and unprovoked attack on over 150 million Nigerians by removing whatever is left of the oil subsidy.
As Nigerians appear to be getting ready to take the last stand against a repressive and callous regime, it is important to remind the public that it is because of a few men and women numbering less than a hundred that Goodluck Jonathan has decided to inflict untold hardship on millions of Nigerians whose only offence is that they are not members of the subsidy racketeering cartel.
Beginning today and thereafter (whenever possible) I will attach a face to each name on the list of the so called oil cartel (we invite information about those companies whose owners were not listed) and the story they want you to believe about their source of wealth. The first person to make the list is Femi Otedola. He does not need any introduction. What appears below is his profile as found on Wikidepia.org. Compare it to what you now know about his role in the oil subsidy scam. When you remember that this same Femi Otedola is a member of Goodluck Jonathan’s economic team, you may start to understand why Nigeria is practicing “egunje” economics.
Living Large: Femi Otedola’s luxury yacht – bought from oil subsidy?
Femi Otedola From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. You have new messages (last change).
Femi Otedola (born 1967 in Epe, Lagos State) is a Nigerian businessman. He is the CEO of African Petroleum Plc, and appeared as one of only two Nigerians (alongside Aliko Dangote) to appear on the 2009 Forbes list of 793 dollar-denominated billionaires in the world, with an estimated net worth of over US$1.2 billion. Femi Otedola is the Nigerian President Chief Executive officer of Zenon Petroleum and Gas limited.
Femi Otedola is the billionaire owner of multi-billion naira indigenous oil giant Zenon. Zenon, which is directly ran by Otedola is the dominant force in diesel business among oil marketing concerns. It supplies this all important fuel used to power the generating sets of most Nigerian industries to nearly all the major manufacturing firms in the country. These include Dangote Group, Cadbury, Coca Cola, Nigerian Breweries, MTN, Unilever, Nestle, Guinness among others.[1]
Otedola is the son of former Lagos State governor, Sir. Michael Otedola. Otedola owns one of the largest oil storage facility which he purchased for N2.8 billion. He bought hundred brand new trucks purchased for N1.3 billion to strengthen the distributive arm of his business and acquired a massive flat bottom bunker vessel with a storage capacity of 16, 000 metric tonnes of diesel for 6.8 million dollars. Zenon owns four cargo ships. He owns Atlas Shipping Agency, Swift Insurance, FO Properties Limited, FO Transport.
He is the President and Chief Executive Officer of Zenon Petroleum and Gas, the company that is currently sitting at the commanding heights of the nation's diesel and kerosene business.
Otedola started Zenon few years ago and within a short time seized control of the market. Today he has become the pacesetter in the downstream sector while expanding the frontiers of competition. NNPC Group Managing Director, Engr. Funso Kupoloku acknowledged this much when he said Zenon was now the company to beat in the downstream sector.
From nowhere, Zenon is today rated among the top five companies in the country, with a huge turnover . But how did he do it many have asked? In an interview some years ago he attributed his phenomenal leap to “hard-work and staying focused on what you want and going all out to get it."
He exhibited patriotic sentiments in the same interview when he said: "We are investing our money here, to create job opportunities for people. Nobody is going to take the money outside the country."
His company appeared to have fully prepared itself for the deregulation of the petroleum sector as evidenced in its purchases. Buying three cargo ships in quick succession to bring its total number of ships to four. All named after his parents and wife. MT Sir Michael (his father), MT Lady Doja (his mother), MT Nana (his wife). His latest, he named Zenon Conquest. Energy experts say Zenon's expansion is to consolidate its competitive edge in the market.
Apart from being the biggest diesel and kerosene marketer in Nigeria today, he is said to be the biggest ship owner in the country. Which partly explains his nomination as President of Nigeria Chambers of Shipping, a powerful and highly influential body in the maritime sector. The oil baron and shipping magnate also bought 100 brand new DAF trucks from Netherlands to strengthen his distribution arm. Zenon now boasts of a total storage capacity of more than 147,000 metric tonnes total holding of diesel making it the biggest depot owner with the largest single storage capacity in the country.
He is also the owner of Atlas Shipping Agency, Swift Insurance, FO Properties Limited, FO Transport and Seaforce Shipping Company Ltd. His appointment last year into the board of Nigeria Investment and Promotion Council, NIPC, observers believe, is the President’s vote of confidence on the young man's business abilities. It is for this that he was also nominated by the President on the team of top Nigerian businessmen to go on an investment drive to South Africa They are essentially to meet and interact with the South African business community and the South African President, President Thabo Mbeki.
On his part, Otedola contributed well over N100 million to the President’s re-election expenses. And under the aegis of friends of Obasanjo and Atiku, he contributed N25 towards the rehabilitation of the National Mosque in Abuja. He was one of the co-launcher of Obasanjo Presidential Library, where donated N200 million. He is said to have direct access to the President.
Femi Otedola is happily married to Nana, with 3 daughters and one son. They all reside in London.
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