Nigerian businessman Femi Otedola has vehemently denied allegations linking him to the fuel subsidy scam that plagued the Goodluck Jonathan administration, describing the claims made by Umar Sani, a former aide to Vice President Namadi Sambo, as malicious and ignorant. Otedola announced that he has instructed his lawyers to file a N1 billion libel suit against Sani, emphasizing that reputations should not be trifled with for propaganda.

Umar Sani had alleged that Otedola, through his company Zenon Petroleum and Gas Ltd, benefited significantly from the subsidy regime he now criticizes. Sani claimed to possess empirical evidence suggesting Otedola controlled up to 90 percent of diesel imports and 40 percent of other petroleum products during the period. Otedola, however, categorically rejected these assertions, stating that Zenon Petroleum and Gas Limited was solely an importer and trader of diesel, which was deregulated long before the Petroleum Subsidy Fund (PSF) scheme commenced. He clarified that Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) was the only product eligible for subsidy claims under the PSF, making it impossible for Zenon to have claimed any subsidy.

Otedola further asserted his role as a whistleblower in exposing the subsidy fraud. As a member of President Goodluck Jonathan's Economic Team, he claimed to be the first to alert the President to the