Billionaire entrepreneur and businessman, Femi Otedola, has cleared the air surrounding a recent report claiming, alleging that Aliko Dangote fell out with Tony Elumelu after a failed financial assistance request during the construction of the refinery.
In the post, attributed to Dangote but now disowned by the company, the author claimed that in 2021, when the refinery project was about half-completed, he ran out of funds and approached several business associates for support, including Femi Otedola, Abdulsamad Rabiu, Mike Adenuga, and Elumelu.
The post further alleged that Elumelu promised $20m but later became unreachable, while other associates reportedly raised $500m to support the project, with Otedola said to have contributed $300m.
However, in a post on Monday on X, Otedola denied the report, describing it as “completely and utterly false”.
According to the entrepreneur, he has “not invested a single kobo, not one dollar, not one naira” in the Refinery.
“Reports claiming that Femi Otedola funded the Dangote Petroleum Refinery are completely and utterly false. He has not invested a single kobo, not one dollar, not one naira. The real story, which those peddling these lies conveniently ignore, is that Mr. Otedola has actually been requesting a special allocation to participate in the refinery’s forthcoming public offer.
“I can categorically state that at no point did Alhaji Dangote request for financing from Mr Elumelu, Mr Adenuga and myself .
“The Dangote Group is a well-structured organisation that is well vast in raising structured capital for its operations. This is calculated mischief and a deliberate attempt to create rifts and sow discord within Nigeria’s closely knit and respected private sector leadership.
“These are men who have built businesses, created jobs, and invested in this nation for decades. They deserve better than to be used as props in a social media fabrication. To those behind this: desist immediately.
“And to everyone else, social media is not a tool for manufactured drama. Nigeria deserves truth, not lies dressed up as insider information!”
READ ALSO: Dangote Denies Claims On Refinery Financing, ‘Rift’ With Elumelu
Otedola’s reaction followed a denial of the viral claims by Dangote, according to a statement released by the Dangote Group Chief Branding and Communications Officer, Anthony Chiejina.
The company said neither Dangote nor the Group made the claims attributed to them, stressing that the publication misrepresents both personal and corporate positions.
