A former aide to ex-Vice President Namadi Sambo, Umar Sani, has accused billionaire businessman Femi Otedola of hypocrisy in his recent comments on Nigeria’s fuel subsidy regime.
Sani, in a post on his 𝕏 account, faulted Otedola’s claim that over ₦2 trillion was siphoned through questionable subsidy claims under former President Goodluck Jonathan. He argued that the subsidy framework “predates Jonathan and lasted decades,” stressing that it was entrenched under former President Olusegun Obasanjo, continued under Umaru Musa Yar’Adua, remained during Jonathan’s tenure, and persisted under Muhammadu Buhari “with even greater opacity.”
“To lay the blame solely on Jonathan is misleading, especially as Otedola himself enjoyed enormous privileges during the era,” Sani wrote.
He alleged that Otedola’s company, Zenon Petroleum and Gas Ltd, once controlled up to 90 percent of diesel imports and benefitted heavily from the same subsidy system he now condemns.
Sani recalled that Jonathan had set up a forensic audit panel led by Aigboje Aig-Imoukhuede to expose exploiters of the subsidy scheme, adding that attempts at deregulation were sabotaged by vested interests. He also referenced the Otedola-Lawan scandal, in which the businessman admitted handing marked money to a lawmaker during a subsidy probe, later describing it as a sting operation.
“Rather than feigning moral superiority, Otedola should come clean. His comments, while critical of corruption, appear more like image-laundering than truth-telling,” Sani said.
He urged the billionaire to support a full independent inquiry into the subsidy regime across all administrations, including the periods when he allegedly profited, saying Nigerians deserve “honesty, full disclosure, and historical accuracy.”
“Until then, his accusations amount to nothing more than a pot calling the kettle black,” Sani concluded.
