One of Nigeria’s most prominent entrepreneurs, Tony Elumelu, has alleged that former President Muhammadu Buhari obstructed his attempt to acquire an oil field.
Elumelu, whose business interests include banking, power, and hospitality through his company Heirs Holdings, revealed that he had been seeking to purchase the oil field since 2017 and had secured $2.5 billion for the acquisition.
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However, he claims that Buhari and his late Chief of Staff, Abba Kyari, thwarted the deal, citing concerns that such a strategically important asset should not be controlled by a private operator.
“This defied logic,” Elumelu told Financial Times, saying he would have been purchasing it from a foreign company.
As one of the few Nigerians who amassed his wealth outside the oil sector, Tony Elumelu disclosed that he aimed to purchase a 45 percent stake in an oil field three years ago.
This move came at a time when major international oil companies like Shell, Total, and Eni were divesting their shallow water assets in Nigeria. Elumelu’s goal was to enhance the country’s energy security amid persistent low power supply.
“We wanted to become a Fortune 500 company and we estimated what we needed. It’s not naira, it’s huge dollars. Energy security is crucial for a country that doesn’t produce enough electricity for its roughly 200 million citizens,” he added.
