Otedola, Obaigbena 40 Years Old Friendship Crumble As Debt Dispute Worsens
LAGOS JANUARY 18TH (NEWSRANGERS)-It is all of 40 years of friendship in ruins as the debt dispute between high-profile Nigerians Nduka Obaigbena and Femi Otedola worsens, findings reveal.
First Bank, with Otedola as Chairman, is unrelentingly taking drastic steps to recover an estimated $225.8m from General Hydrocarbons Limited, an oil servicing firm with Obaigbena as Chairman. Family members, including Efe Damilola Obaigbena and Olabisi Eka Obaigbena, also serve as board members.
Obaigbena is also the Chairman and Editor-in-Chief of ThisDay and Arise Media Group.
First Bank secured a court order freezing the assets of Obaigbena and his family members with ties to General Hydrocarbons Limited. The order also directed all Nigerian banks to blacklist them as part of efforts to recover the $225.8m debt.
Obaigbena, who is fronting General Hydrocarbons Limited”s dispute of the debt, accuses Otedola of masterminding the bank’s extreme tactics against him, his family members, and the company.
The face-off has spiraled into out-of-control smear campaigns, allegations, and counter-accusations that have shattered a 40-year close friendship.
Otedola, who is also a major player in the power sector with high-yielding Geregu Power, once shared how long he had known Obaigbena during the latter’s 60th birthday celebration.
“Nduka Obaigbena I’ve known for 36 years,” Otedola stated in July 2019 when the publisher turned 60.
In celebration of his then-friend, he added, “His vision, self-belief, and tenacity were clear from his youth. That is why I am not surprised that he’s built over the years a massive publishing empire. Nduka is a jolly good fellow—a man for all seasons and occasions with a magnetic personality.”
Otedola also disclosed at the time that he printed the front cover of ThisWeek, a publication by Obaigbena before he hit the scene with ThisDay in 1995. Otedola worked at Impact Press, owned by his late father—and former governor of Lagos State—Sir Michael Otedola, at the time.
The two maintained a closeness that saw Otedola pray for God’s blessings, good health, peace, and joy for Obaigbena until the present-day debt fight turned things upside down between them.
A 2017 social media post by Otedola’s daughter, Temi equally testified to the strong ties that existed between her father and the media mogul.
Although the $225.8m debt by General Hydrocarbons Limited is seen as the immediate cause of their intense discord, whispers across high society suggest “shifting alliances” in the make-or-mar tussle for control of Nigeria’s oldest financial institution, First Bank, and its parent company, FBN Holdings, may be the behind-the-scenes cause.
Society Now
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Posted by News Rangers
on Jan 18 2025. Filed under Business, National.
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