A former Special Adviser (Media) to ex-Vice President Nnamadi Sambo, Umar Sani, has defended Goodluck Jonathan over an allegation by billionaire businessman, Femi Otedola, that over N2 trillion was incurred by the country in fuel subsidy scams under his (Jonathan’s) administration.
Otedola recently revisited the nation’s controversial fuel subsidy regime, making an intriguing assertion that corruption remains rife in the system. He made this claim while weighing in on a dispute between the DangotePetroleum Refinery and fuel marketers.
In his intervention last week, Otedola, an erstwhile major player in Nigeria’s downstream petroleum sector, accused members of the Depot and Petroleum Products Marketers Association of Nigeria (DAPPMAN), a body which he said he founded, of perpetuating a corrupt business model built on subsidy fraud and obsolete infrastructure.
“For many, what probably stood out from the diatribe was Mr. Otedola’sbizarre allegation that over N2 trillion was siphoned through questionable subsidy claims under the administration of President Goodluck Jonathan.
“It is not clear whether the businessman threw in this gratuitous denunciation to score cheap political points and get ahead of others in the nation’s extant patronage politics or merely leveraged the very convenient corruption chant for mass appeal. What is however obvious, is the undisguised intent by the successful businessman to single out one administration for public censure,” Sani stated.
While no one should defend or justify corruption in any form or era, Sanistated it was important to respond to Otedola’s accusations with factual clarity and historical accuracy, which Sani said he chose to ignore. “His statements are not only hypocritical but reek of selective memory and a convenient rewriting of history,” the ex-government aide stated.
He argued that the petrol subsidy regime in Nigeria predated Jonathan’s administration and continued long after it, stressing that Nigeria’s subsidy regime has indeed lasted for about five decades.
“In fact, it was sustained in the 4th Republic, during President OlusegunObasanjo’s tenure, continued through President Umar Yar’Adua’sadministration and remained in place all through President Jonathan’s time.
“Later, under President Muhammadu Buhari, it intensely persisted despite public claims to the contrary, with even higher levels of opacity and unaccounted subsidy spending.
“It is therefore misleading, even mischievous, for Mr. Otedola to lay the blame solely at the feet of the Jonathan administration when the issue spans several administrations, including the one under which Mr. Otedolahimself enjoyed enormous business privileges,” Sani argued.
At the peak of the subsidy regime, he stated that Otedola, through his company Zenon Petroleum and Gas Ltd, was one of the biggest importers of diesel and other petroleum products in Nigeria.
According to him, there is empirical evidence showing that Otedolacontrolled as much as 90 per cent of diesel imports and up to 40 per cent of other products at the time, stressing that the same system he now condemns was one in which he was deeply entrenched and from which he personally benefited immensely.
“There is no doubt that the industry was fraught with round-tripping and inflated subsidy claims during the subsidy regime. It was precisely due to such rampant allegations that the Jonathan administration instituted the Aigboje Aig-Imoukhuede-led forensic audit panel to probe the subsidy regime, a courageous step aimed at unmasking those exploiting the system, including several politically connected operators.
“Setting up of the Imoukhuede committee to conduct a forensic investigation into the subsidy scheme was part of the crucial reforms Jonathan initiated to sanitise the sector. Rather than sit idly while corruption festered, President Jonathan made the bold move towards privatisation and deregulation of petroleum products, which was unfortunately sabotaged by a coalition of vested interests, including politicians, opportunistic civil society groups, and indeed operators within the industry who directly benefited from the status quo.
“Let it be recalled that the Occupy Nigeria protests of 2012, which were used to frustrate deregulation, were in part funded and influenced by those who had the most to lose if subsidy fraud was dismantled. It is disingenuous for Mr. Otedola to now turn around and feign moral superiority,” Sani added.
His company, Zenon, was among those indicted or spotlighted during the investigative work of both the Imoukhuede panel and the House of Representatives Ad-hoc Committee on Subsidy Payments led then by Honourable Farouk Lawan.
Given his proximity to power and central role in the subsidy ecosystem, Sani argued that Otedola likely knows far more about the inner workings of the subsidy scam than he is willing to disclose.
“His recent comments, while seemingly critical of corruption, appear to be a calculated attempt at image-laundering, projecting himself as a reformer rather than the enabler and direct beneficiary of the warped subsidy system that records show he was,” the statement added.
While any genuine effort to expose corruption in Nigeria’s petroleum sector is welcome, however, such efforts must be grounded in honesty, full disclosure, and historical accuracy, Sani maintained.
The Nigerian public deserves the whole truth, not curated narratives or veiled confessions masquerading as patriotic intervention,” the statement said.
It stressed that if Otedola truly wants to help the country, he should come clean about his role, name the culprits, and support a full independent inquiry into the subsidy regime, not just under Jonathan, but across all administrations, including those he did business under.
“Now that Otedola is speaking, he should as well tell Nigerians his story with the Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria (AMCON).
Until then, his accusations amount to nothing more than a pot calling the kettle black,” Sani said.
Emmanuel Addeh
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