Business

How Obasanjo insulted me over diesel deregulation – Otedola

Published by Akinwale Fakinlede on August 8th, 2025.

Nigerian billionaire, Femi Otedola, has disclosed a heated confrontation with former President Olusegun Obasanjo over the deregulation of diesel importation in 2004, in which Obasanjo was so angry that he accused Otedola of misleading him to deregulate the importation of the product.

Otedola revealed this in his memoir, ‘Making It Big: Lessons from a Life in Business,’ published by FO Books and slated for release on August 18, 2025.

In excerpts from the book seen by TheCable, the oil magnate elaborated on how Obasanjo flew into a rage after being told that there was diesel scarcity across the country because of deregulation.

Otedola, who owned Zenon Petroleum at the time, had convinced Obasanjo that the private sector could meet Nigeria’s diesel demand without the involvement of NNPC, which had been selling imported diesel below market price and getting subsidy reimbursement from the federal government.

The business tycoon wrote, “When President Obasanjo deregulated diesel in 2004, Zenon took an unassailable lead in the market.

“My opponents’ reaction was to tell the president that we’d turned the market upside down (and that the) economy was about to be brought down because there was no diesel, and Obasanjo was mad at me because he’d sought and received assurances from us that NNPC’s exit from diesel importation wouldn’t affect supply. “My critics then fanned the flames by telling him there was no diesel in the country, that trucks couldn’t move and that industries were shutting down.”

He continued, “The President called me at 2am, shouting through the phone. ‘You’re a stupid boy! God will punish you! You persuaded me to deregulate diesel, and now there’s no diesel in the country!’ He was livid. I flew to Abuja the following day. As soon as Obasanjo saw me, he flew into a rage again. ‘What kind of rubbish is this? What kind of nonsense is this?’ He was right in my face, screaming at the top of his lungs.

“I allowed him to cool down, and when he stopped talking, I tried to explain the situation. ‘Baba, they’re lying to you. It’s all lies. I have six ships waiting to discharge big supplies of diesel.’”

Otedola argued that diesel was available across the country and that he was even paying demurrage fees due to delays in offloading his shipments.

“I was even paying demurrage. I told the president that I was the victim of competitors’ backbiting,” he wrote, saying he asked Obasanjo to “see what they come up with next… You’ll see that it’s me who’s telling you the truth.”

To disprove the misinformation, Otedola said he proposed to Obasanjo that they advertise the availability and price of diesel on the front pages of national newspapers, aiming to reassure the public and address pricing concerns.

“I knew it was people in NNPC – the state monopoly, in their now – teetering positions of power, who were against deregulation – who’d been telling him these lies. They wanted to continue to import, and rake in the subsidy money.

“Obasanjo was a determined and robust president. Jealous people did not easily sway him. Once he made up his mind that someone was trustworthy and genuine, as he seemed to do about me that day, he stopped listening to

the naysayers,” he added.