Business
Banks sent pretty ladies to woo me for deposits – Otedola
Billionaire businessman, Femi Otedola, has revealed how banks once deployed “bewitching ladies” to secure his deposits and loans when his business empire was flourishing.
Otedola made the disclosure in his forthcoming memoir, ‘Making It Big: Lessons from a Life in Business,’ published by FO Books and scheduled for release on August 18, 2025.
In excerpts from the book seen by TheCable, the oil magnate detailed how a series of financial crises including the global crash in crude oil prices and the devaluation of the naira left his businesses deeply indebted and under immense pressure.
“All told, I lost more than US$480 million to the plunge in oil prices, US$258 million through the devaluation of the naira, US$320 million because of accruing interest, and another US$160 million when the stocks crashed.
“It was devastating, like a terrible nightmare, but a nightmare would have been better: day would break, and I would wake up. There was no waking up from this,” Otedola wrote.
He recounted how drastically his fortunes changed, saying, “One moment, I was the darling of the banks, who did everything in the world to court me, do business with me, give me loans, take deposits from me.
“They would send bewitching ladies to make their offers more convincing, and now I was waking up to the sight of hefty, barrel-chested men standing menacingly in front of my gate, waiting for the moment I’d step out of my compound.”
Otedola broke into the Nigerian mega business scene with Zenon Petroleum which grew from selling diesel in drums to owning the largest share of the local market.
He also acquired African Petroleum in the downstream market and rebranded it to Forte Oil Plc, at a time one of the highest performing in the stock market.
However, a diesel shipment he ordered in 2008 when crude oil was $147/barrel did not arrive until the price had crashed to $40, plunging him into massive debt.
As a result of falling forex inflow, the naira was also devalued from N120/dollar to N167 in 2009 presenting Otedola with a double problem which include low diesel price and high dollar liability.
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Apple will invest an additional $100 billion in the United States, taking its total pledge to $600 billion over the next four years, a senior White House official said Wednesday.
The announcement, which was first reported by US media, will be officially made later Wednesday at 4:30 pm (2030 GMT) at a White House event with President Donald Trump.
In February, Apple said it would spend more than $500 billion in the United States and hire 20,000 people, with Trump quickly taking credit for the decision.
The Silicon Valley-based giant said it was its “largest-ever spend commitment,” which came as tech companies battle for dominance in developing artificial intelligence technology.
It builds on plans announced in 2021, when the company founded by Steve Jobs said that it would invest $430 billion in the US and add 20,000 jobs over the next five years.
Trump, who has pushed US companies to shift manufacturing home by slapping tariffs on trading partners, claimed that his administration was to thank for the investment.
Apple reported a quarterly profit of $23.4 billion in late July, topping forecasts despite facing higher costs due to Trump’s sweeping levies.
Tariffs are essentially a tax paid by companies importing goods to the United States. This means Apple is on the hook for tariffs on iPhones and other products or components it brings into the country from abroad.
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The Livestock Productivity and Resilience Support, L-PRES, Project has expressed concern over the growing public health risks posed by unhygienic slaughterhouses and inadequate meat inspection practices across Taraba State.
Speaking on Tuesday in Jalingo during a capacity-building workshop for meat inspectors and abattoir managers, the State Coordinator of the World Bank-supported project, Hananiah Albert, emphasized the urgent need to uphold hygiene standards in the meat processing chain to prevent the spread of zoonotic diseases.
“The safety and quality of the meat we consume depend heavily on what happens before, during, and after slaughter.
“This is why meat inspection must be taken seriously, and abattoirs properly managed in line with national and international best practices to curb diseases such as tuberculosis, anthrax, and brucellosis”, Albert said.
He stressed that meat inspection and abattoir management were not merely technical tasks but essential pillars of food safety, disease control, and public health protection.
Albert lauded the Taraba State Government’s ongoing livestock reforms and explained that the training was designed to equip participants with standardized hygiene protocols and modern techniques for safer meat handling and processing.
“This training is a deliberate effort to empower frontline meat inspectors, veterinary officers, and abattoir workers with up-to-date knowledge to ensure uniformity, efficiency, and safety across abattoirs,” he stated.
Also speaking, the State Commissioner for Agriculture and Food Security, Professor Nicholas Namessan, reaffirmed the government’s commitment to food safety and livestock development.
He noted that meat is one of the most widely consumed animal products in the state and that growing demand comes with added responsibilities.
“With our growing population and increasing urbanization, meat consumption is on the rise. But this also means we have a greater responsibility to ensure that what our people consume is hygienic, wholesome, and disease-free,” he said
Namessan urged participants to take the training seriously, describing them as key actors in promoting safe livestock consumption and public health.
He also reiterated the state government’s determination to expand the livestock value chain and strengthen its collaboration with L-PRES.
The exercise, which took place at Galaxy Spot, brought together meat inspectors and abattoir managers from all 16 local government areas of the state.
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Nigeria currently has 220 open oil blocks scattered across its onshore and offshore basins, data from the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission has revealed.
This is despite its growing debt burden and crude shortages affecting local refineries. The NUPRC data showed that the deep offshore terrain accounts for the highest number of unlicensed blocks at 59, highlighting the country’s underexploited energy wealth in its most technically advanced but capital-intensive region.
The Benue Trough follows with 41 open blocks, while the Chad Basin hosts 40. In the Sokoto Basin, there are 28 blocks yet to be awarded, and the Bida Basin has 16. It was disclosed that even in more mature areas, idle blocks persist.
The offshore Niger Delta, often considered the backbone of Nigeria’s oil production history, still holds seven open blocks. The Anambra Basin has 13 open blocks, while eight each remain unlicensed in the Benin Basin and the onshore Niger Delta.
According to a publication by the NUPRC, 24 blocks were recently awarded from the 2022/2023 deepwater mini bid round and the 2024 licensing round. On the strength of the recorded successes in exploration, development, and production, the commission said it is evident that the Nigerian deepwater terrain is endowed with enormous hydrocarbon resources.
“A testament to the richness of its resources is commercial discoveries and prolific historical productions of the NNPC Exploration and Production Limited’s Abo field, Chevron Nigeria Limited’s Agbami Field, Yinka Folawiyo’s Aje field, TotalEnergies Upstream Nigeria Limited’s Akpo and Egina fields, Shell Nigeria Exploration and Production Company’s Bonga field, and ESSO Exploration and Production Usan and Erha fields, among others,” the report said.
While saying Nigeria’s deepwater terrain has become the new bride of international oil companies in the wave of current portfolio rationalisation and divestment programmes, it was stated that the deep offshore terrain is largely underexplored due to its complexity.
“Characteristically, the deep offshore terrain presents complexity in accessibility, technology, investment, and facility deployment, which potentially explains its status as largely underexplored and underdeveloped.
“Empirical data indicates that there are about 59 open block opportunities in deep offshore Nigeria, which accounts for about 27 per cent of total open blocks in Nigeria and 80 per cent of open blocks in the prolific Niger Delta and its offshore terrains,” it stated.
As of January 1, 2025, the deepwater terrain reportedly contributed approximately 19 per cent and 12 per cent of oil and gas reserves in Nigeria, respectively. Industry analysts said these figures point to a serious mismatch between Nigeria’s potential and its actual production performance, its unlocked wealth, and the debt profile.
As a country with high dependence on oil revenues, unlicensed and undeveloped oil blocks impact incomes, causing the country to resort to borrowing. It was learnt that the government’s debt stock hit over N149tn in Q1 2025, and the country continues to depend heavily on imports to meet refined petroleum needs, even as its own refineries suffer from chronic crude shortages.
According to a report by the Debt Management Office, Nigeria’s total public debt rose to N149.39tn as of March 31, 2025, marking a year-on-year increase of N27.72tn or 22.8 per cent compared to the N121.67tn recorded in the corresponding period of 2024.
The persistent rise in debt stock is attributed to new borrowings by the Federal Government and the depreciation of the naira, which inflated the local currency value of external loans. It was reported that the surge was against a backdrop of persistent fiscal pressures and continued reliance on both domestic and foreign borrowing to fund public expenditure.
A map published by NUPRC revealed vast acreage stretching across Nigeria’s maritime boundary, with most of it untouched. While landmark projects like Bonga, Agbami, Egina, and Akpo represent success stories in offshore development, they are exceptions in a terrain still dominated by unlicensed and undeveloped blocks.
Meanwhile, the commission is planning to push for a cluster or nodal development model to unlock smaller accumulations and cut costs. The commission announced last year that there would be a licensing bid round in 2025, but that has yet to commence as of the time of filing this report.
Aside from the 220 open blocks, the country also has a sizeable number of licensed oil and gas assets that are undeveloped. Over three billion barrels of oil are locked in these undeveloped fields, according to the NUPRC.
In April, the Minister of State Petroleum Resources (Oil), Senator Heineken Lokpobiri, threatened to withdraw oil blocks from owners that have failed to develop them.
Lokpobiri also called on international oil companies operating in Nigeria to ramp up investment in the country’s oil and gas sector, emphasising that the current administration has provided every necessary incentive to ensure seamless and profitable operations.
“We cannot continue to have assets sitting idle for 20 to 30 years without development. If you are not utilising an asset and it remains underdeveloped for decades, it neither adds value to your books nor to us as a country. We encourage industry players to explore collaborative measures such as shared resources for contiguous assets, farm-outs, and the release of underutilised assets to operators ready to invest in production. Otherwise, like any responsible government, we will take back these assets and allocate them to those willing to go to work,” the oil minister said.
He emphasised the need for IOCs to support local refining efforts, noting that more refineries are coming upstream and will require a steady supply of crude oil. To make this easy and possible, he stressed that ramping up production will enable Nigeria to meet both local and international obligations.
The Dangote refinery said it depends on the United States to get enough feedstock, importing up to 10 million barrels in July.
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