Nigerian business mogul Femi Otedola has accused the chairman of Transnational Corporation of Nigeria (Transcorp), Tony Elumelu, of backstabbing him over and over again at his most helpless moments in business.
Mr Otedola disclosed this yesterday in a statement that marks his first public appearance in the recent battle for the soul of Transcorp, obtained exclusively by PREMIUM TIMES.
The business mogul lately divested his newly acquired stake in Transnational Corporation of Nigeria (Transcorp) to Mr Elumelu, pulling the plug on the scramble for the top ownership of the group.
Mr Otedola revealed how he went bankrupt in 2008 and was betrayed by Mr Elumelu.
“I became Chairman of Transcorp Hotel in 2007 with a shareholding of 5% and unknowingly Tony gradually started buying shares quietly,” he began.
“By the following year in 2008, I went bankrupt in Nigeria. Tony proceeded to take my shares in UBA to service the interest on my loans and he also took over my shares in Africa Finance Corporation, where I was the largest shareholder.
“Shortly after, Albert Okumagba informed me that an American firm wanted to acquire my shares in Transcorp, which I then agreed to sell. However, this supposed American firm turned out to be Tony Elumelu. The revelation of this prompted me to resign as Chairman of the hotel.”
Otedola also accused Elumelu of buying Ughelli power plant after he told him he had interest in the year 2012.
“Years later in 2012 Tony said he wanted to see me so we met in my office where I had previously had a meeting with foreign investors who had not yet departed the premises,” he explained.
“Curious to know, he asked what sort of meeting I had had and I disclosed that I wanted to go into the power business, specifically Ughelli Power Plant. Tony quietly went ahead to bid for Ughelli and he outbid me by offering to buy the plant for $ 300 million.
“And as some would say: the rest is history.”
