Nigerian billionaire and oil magnate, Femi Otedola, has revealed a fiery confrontation with former President Olusegun Obasanjo in 2004 over the deregulation of diesel imports, an energy policy shift that reshaped Nigeria’s downstream petroleum market.
Memoir Reveals Heated Exchange
In excerpts from his forthcoming memoir, Making It Big: Lessons from a Life in Business, due for release on August 18, Otedola recounted how Obasanjo angered by reports of nationwide diesel shortages accused him of misleading the presidency into withdrawing the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) from diesel importation.
Zenon’s Market Dominance After Deregulation
At the time, Otedola’s Zenon Petroleum had rapidly gained market dominance following deregulation, ending NNPC’s subsidy-backed diesel imports. Critics within the state-run oil sector allegedly warned Obasanjo that private suppliers were failing to meet demand, leading to industrial disruptions and stalled logistics.
Midnight Call and Abuja Meeting
“President Obasanjo called me at 2 a.m., shouting, ‘You’re a stupid boy! God will punish you!’” Otedola wrote, describing how he immediately flew to Abuja to defend himself. He claimed the scarcity narrative was fabricated by vested interests in NNPC seeking to maintain control over diesel imports and the associated subsidy rents.
Countering Misinformation
Otedola insisted the country had adequate supply, citing six ships laden with diesel awaiting discharge, and said he was incurring demurrage due to port delays. To counter the disinformation, he proposed placing diesel availability and pricing adverts on the front pages of national dailies.
Landmark Policy Shift
The 2004 diesel deregulation marked a landmark moment in Nigeria’s petroleum policy, making Automotive Gas Oil (AGO) the first fully liberalised petroleum product removing subsidies, opening the market to competition, and dismantling entrenched rent-seeking structures in the downstream segment.
Lasting Impact on Petroleum Policy
Otedola credited Obasanjo’s eventual trust in his assurances as pivotal in keeping deregulation on course despite resistance from powerful state oil actors.