“My relationship with Akin is what I would call, destiny prevails. In 2005 I had a friend that worked in Oando and she did mention to me that she has a colleague. And she called Akin and we spoke.”
“I set up my training company in London Fine shade energy, I was looking for a trader and I couldn’t find any good trader. I called Dimeji Edwards who was Akin’s boss. Akin picked up the phone to come and see me.”
“So he came, and I said to him, listen I want to give you a job. Come and work for me. Then of course he went back to Wale and Mofe who were his bosses then. And they said you want to go and work for that man? That has sacked 6 CEOs in 6 years. Now when I say destiny prevails, the business collapsed. I built a massive empire. I had 93% of diesel at my fingertips. I was a bit playful, and the business collapsed. The option I had then was to commit suicide. Then, of course, I thought of Nana and the kids. And I said no, I won’t commit suicide.”
“I will face reality and sack myself and the business. So, I sacked myself. I made Akin the CEO of the London office, and I was so impressed by the way he turned around the business. I gave him 1% of the business. I now later, made him the CEO of Zenon Oil, and then the CEO of African Petroleum.”
Femi Otedola founded Geregu Power Plc with Akinfemiwa as the CEO.He had also served as Group CEO for Forte Oil and Zenon Oil. Around the time that Akinfemiwa began working for Femi Otedola, the billionaire businessman, faced a significant setback in 2008 when he incurred a loss of approximately $480 million. Coupled with the devaluation of the naira, this unfortunate event led to Otedola’s exclusion from the Forbes billionaire list. However, since then, the resilient business mogul has made an impressive comeback, acquiring stakes in major companies and cementing his position in the business world. When Otedola bought into First Bank of Nigeria Ltd last year, Akinfemiwa was appointed a Non-Executive Director on the Board of the bank in May 2022.