SEEMS LIKE THE CAT BEHIND THE MASK IN OGUN STATE IS OIL AND GAS BILLIONAIRE, ALHAJI ABDUL WASIU OLATUNDE SOWAMI OF PRUDENT OIL

Abdulwasiu Olatunde Sowami 2nd from left. 

Abdulwasiu Olatunde Sowami, 2nd from right in white

It is very interesting that in the last few months the name of this very quiet and under the radar, big fish but filthy rich oil and gas czar has sprung up. Prior to a few months ago when it was discovered that he was the one buying out Femi Otedola many had not known him, except maybe those very conversant with the oil and gas dealings in Nigeria. That Femi Otedola billionaire owner of Forte Oil had decided to divest totally his investment in the downstream sector of the oil and gas business had caught every one napping. Though the announcement was surprising, but what was more surprising was that it was a Nigerian Company-Prudent Energy Services owned by a Nigerian--Alhaji AbdulWasiu Olatunde Sowami, who many had not known prior to that time, was the brain behind the brand.

The truth is that, it's not as if he was a neophyte who had only just barged in into the very lucrative oil and gas business, far from it. It was just that unlike many of his colleagues in the business who loved the notoriety and fame that big money brings, as a practicing moslem he just preferred to be under the radar. Not for him the Banana Island or Parkview Ikoyi gigantic home, not even a house yet at the famous Billionaire's row in Ikoyi (he apparently lives in Ogba, Ikeja), not for him the private jets, not for him the many humongous cars that are tagged the super automobile of the rich and famous, or even the luxury yacht, that became the separator of the rich and wealthy sometime ago.

Apart from the time a few years back, when he was one of the 6 bigwigs who were arrested then in 2012 and interrogated for their alleged involvement in the fuel scarcity scam, he was just another businessman in that sector doing his business without unnecessary attention. The others arrested then were Odjegba Onoriode of Eurafrica Coastal Services, Ejiofor Innoma Chikadibia of Caades Oil and Gas, Gladys Amaefula of Somerset Oil and Gas, Mallam Bashir Adamu Gusau of Imad Oil and Gas and Sir Daniel Chikwudozie of Dozzy Oil and Gas limited. They had all been recommended by the then Presidential Committee on Oil Subsidy.

Sowami's company, Prudent Energy had been paid a total of N1.3 billion based on a single importation of 18,316,767 million litres of PMS. They were supposed to have been arranged at the end of investigation but nothing ever came out of it. Fast forward to 2017, Prudent Energy Services was still one of the 50 companies that got approved to lift a total of 1.3mbd oil amongst 50 companies to have gotten the approval then for 2017/2018 meaning they either must have scaled through the allegations of past or that the allegations against them didn't hold no water. What Prudent Energy Services got with the approval of their bid was a crude oil term contract to lift 32,000 barrels of crude per day.

So from the above one would have been able to deduce that the graduate of the University of Maiduguri, didn't just stumble on money today and him or his company emerging on the scene and buying Femi Otedola's 75 % stake in Forte Oil is not a flight of fancy or a bolt out of the blue. For you to better understand the level at which Sowami plays, maybe you should all know the condition attached to being one of those successful to lift crude oil in Nigeria. The potential off-takers must have a minimum annual turnover of $500 million dollars for 2016 & a networth of at least $250 million Dollars for 2016, that's apart from having audited their 2015/2016 accounts.

So when somehow you begin to hear that the man behind PRUDENT ENERGY Services is a close, very close friend of the outgoing Governor of Ogun State, Senator Ibikunle Amosun and that the quiet man in his personal capacity was in fact, the big boy sponsor of APM's Adekunle Akinlade's Gubernatorial ambition with the full support of Senator Amosun, then one must take notice. Not until after the election was over and Hon. Akinlade lost to another oil and gas Czar in the person of Prince Dapo Abiodun who owns Heyden Oil, before the cat behind the mask was actually discovered, to be Alhaji Abdulwasiu Olatunde Sowami. Now at least one can understand the reason behind the confidence that Hon. Adekunle Akinlade showed throughout. You can not have men of timber and caliber likes of an influencial Governor & a man of extraordinary means and not be over filled with confidence. 

FEMI OTEDOLA RETIRES FROM OIL & GAS. SELLS 75% STAKE IN FORTE OIL FOR GOOD MONEY. SET TO BUILD INVESTMENT COMPANY.

The news is all over town about Femi Otedola new investment drive as he retires from oil and gas totally. The wealthy father of 4, would be setting up an investment company after the good deal he got for selling his stake in Forte oil. His 75% stake in Forte Oil his former baby was sold for an impressive between 300 to 400 million dollars (some say about 25 billion NAIRA) according to the unconfirmed gist.

With such an amount in the cooler, if same amount alone is fixed, that's about 2 to 3 billion NAIRA guaranteed monthly as retirement largesse, for as long as he keeps the fixed investment. With what FO has smartly done, comes the question about if he is a clairvoyant who has seen or has the uncanny ability to see the future and might know that the fortune of that sector could begin to dwindle and lose value, so as a shrewd businessman, maybe one that is very aware of certain facts, he has cashed out when the ovation is loudest and at the best time possible, to get real value for his investment.

Now maybe, people would begin to understand that the rumor of him wanting to do other things and even vie into politics was somewhat true and wasn't without fire in the 1st instance. Maybe he had to quickly retrace his steps for now as the coast wasn't that clear yet and it might not have been the best of times to stick out his neck.

So from vibes we are getting maybe not totally confirmed though, maybe we should be expecting something like an FO Capital or something near that contraption an investment company to manage the massive wealth already made and then see how the wealth can be further invested to double or quadruple what's already on ground.

The sumptuous white HQ of Forte Oil, that impressive multi billion property of the wealthy businessman whose investments in real estate is said to be staggering would still house the oil and gas concern, which is very likely or most definitely going to have a change of name and would be re-branded to showcase the new owners, Prudent Energy who made the purchase through Ignite Investments & Commodities Ltd. So even as FO retires and has sold the company, he would still be earning rents in pretty millions, from his property that would still be housing the brand he would no more own. The water front facing white edifice also is still most likely to house FO's personal office too!

For FO or should we say Mr. Tom Ford (he loves that brand a whole lot) though, it's a new horizon, a new dimension, it is pastures new. And we can begin to expect much flavour in different delicious stews from him. You would have noticed that he is now a lot more active and prominent on the social media scene, interacting and engaging the people more, unlike before, this we believe is deliberate and it might all be geared towards something in the future, maybe near or far.

Till the divestment and sales was done, Zenon Oil and Thames Investment Incorporated were the highest shareholders and majority owners of Forte Oil, with Prudent Energy purchase of the 75% stake through Ignite Investments, they take ownership and the majority stake immediately as soon as the purchase is ratified by the appropriate authorities. 

BILLIONAIRE FEMI OTEDOLA'S FIRST DAUGHTER-TOLANI OTEDOLA EMERGES GLEEFULLY AS A MUSIC ARTIST ON THE ENTERTAINMENT SCENE!

Tolani Otedola

Femi Otedola

With his 3 gals

Maybe that artistic/creative gene(s) specifically in the art form, which the dad never displayed before, is what the kids are now showing off with glee! Sometimes the old ones can live a particular beautiful dream of theirs via their kids, this most likely might be the case in the lives of the children of Femi Otedola.

Many might not have known her that much or heard her name as much as that of the other more popular two, in the persons of DJ Cuppy-Ifeoluwa Florence Otedola, the Celebrity Deejay and Temi Otedola, the top lifestyle blogger, but Tolani Otedola is the first born daughter and the eldest child of the certified Forbes billionaire, Femi Otedola.

Like the other 2, she's also very gorgeous too, a pretty girl by all standards and the eldest of the 3 gals, even older than the only son too. 

From the way the 3 daughters of FO, (which is one of the popular sobriquet by which Femi Otedola is addressed by most), have embraced their very creative and artistic sides, it is obvious that their parents have a very liberal leaning, unlike many of the kids of the super well to do, whose parents most often would have insisted that their kids should go find other meaningful things to do. So most likely FO might have had an agreement with his kids, that they finish school first, get your degrees and then thereafter go do whatever catches your fancy and I ll support you to the best of my abilities.

So Tolani, like her younger sibling DJ Cuppy has thought to explore her musical side, expressing her artistic gifts and showcase her talent to the world via singing and performing (music).

So as a star in the making, an emerging entertainment Sun, set to let her shine fall on all, she showcased her skills for the first time publicly yesterday, Friday, October 27, 2017 at that artistes enclave on Tiamiyu Savage, Victoria Island known to all as Terra Kulture.  Incidentally, that same street used to house FO's former business HQ- Zenon Oil head office.

This first showcase was a very privileged one at that, with the who-is-who of the business world attending to show support, to their friend and his daughter. The likes of Aliko Dangote, Samad Rabiu, Nduka Obaighena, Sam Iwuajoku, Segun Sebanjo, Aig Imohkuede, Herbert Wigwe, Mo Abudu, Dapo Balogun, Gbenga Oyebode, Tayo Ayeni, Bola Shagaya, Ijeoma Nwogwugwu, Muyiwa Bakare, Ladi Balogun, Niyi Adebayo, Donald Duke, Tunji Olowolafe, Aremo Segun Oniru, Mutiu Summonu, Biola Akinola and very many others all came and were all mesmerised! 

This emergence of a well supported budding new music talent, set like "Pinky & the Brain" to take over the world music stage, sure started on a good footing. Knowing her dad very well, if Tolani is as talented as she has displayed already, then we are sure that he would leave no stone unturned to make sure to help her realise her dream of becoming the "next international world music star" to emerge from Nigeria Africa.

Should we be expecting a "Grammy" award sometime in the future, from the Otedola's household? Never say never, is all we can readily respond with right now. But we can also say that for a first outing, she did give a good account of herself. 

FEMI OTEDOLA BACK ON THE ROLL. EARNS A WHOOPING $398 MILLION IN 3 MONTHS

FO & GORGEOUS DAUGHTER CUPPY

For the past few months now, the billionaire owner of Forte Oil had had to deal with sundry issues. One of the major one was that he wasn't as liquid as he had always been, the reason mainly was that he was far too stretched by his indebtedness to some financial institutions. When the situation was bad, it was very bad, it took the grace of God and some super fantastic and deft financial manoeuvrings to take some of the tension and stress off the made man, one of the casualties of that dark period was the loss of his then Oando building on Ajose Adeogun, Victoria Island. If not for some investments especially real estates that were of great value, it might not have been nice at all.

But thank God for his grace, some of the troubles of the past have since become lessons to learn from and like the proverbial saying that goes thus ''The ram that took a reverse back, only did so to gather more strength, the handsome husband of Nana Otedola, who only just buried is beloved dad some days back, seem to be back on the good rollercoaster. Things are looking great again, the liquidity situation seem to have become a thing of the past. For mere mortals, what FO went through could have made some to take matters into their hands. Now after only a couple of months, Forbes Africa has claimed that FO is back with a massive bang!!! Earning a whooping $398 million dollars in only 3 months (between March 3rd & June 2nd), that's about 67 billion Naira plus or minus.

How did that happen? It's because shares in his oil & gas concern, Forte Oil appreciated by a whooping 167% in less than 100 days.

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