Business
Geregu Power Plant Executive Chairman, Femi Otedola: Champion Extraordinaire!
Quintessential businessman, Femi Otedola, is the real definition of the man with the Midas Touch, a mesmerizing maestro in the art of money making. For him, everything good seems conspiring in his favour. He has made good for himself as a businessman and one of Africa’s wealthiest.
But there are lots yet unknown about the taciturn entrepreneur – His towering disposition and unequaled business wisdom.
What this unassuming businessman has going for him is that in spite of conquering the business world like a volcano, he does not allow the frills and thrills of vulgar materialism erode the more sublime traits that are prime requirements in an astute businessman.
His razor sharp intellect, to a large extent, has made great impact in the nation’s business , thereby taking his businesses to enviable heights.
In 2009, Otedola became the second Nigerian after Aliko Dangote to appear on the Forbes list of dollar-denominated billionaires, with an estimated net worth of $1.2 billion. But in 2017, the mogul fell off the ranks of the richest black people on earth as a result of the plunging share price of his then oil company, Forte Oil. But this never bothered the savvy entrepreneur who rather prefers to tread the quiet side of life.
The astute magnate has regained his spot on Africa’s richest list.
We were able to reveal that since the long-awaited listing of his power-generating company, last year October, Otedola has seen his fortune grow in leaps and bounds as his stake in Geregu Power approaches a valuation of $2 billion.
Notwithstanding the eclipse, fluidity and uncertainty hovering in the country’s business terrain, the listing of the shares of his power-generating company has proved highly lucrative for Otedola, with his stake experiencing a substantial increase in market value.
Geregu Power owns three natural gas-fired power plants generating a combined capacity of 435 megawatts representing 10 percent of Nigeria’s total power generation capacity.
As the company establishes itself as a formidable player in Nigeria’s energy generation sector, it is also poised to significantly increase its total capacity ,over the next two years, from 435 megawatts to a remarkable 1,300 megawatts. The strategic move not only demonstrates the company’s commitment to meeting the energy needs of Nigerians, but also aims to boost its earnings and revenue through continued growth in the power sector.
This year alone, Otedola’s stake has surged by more than $900 million, propelling him to return to the exclusive ranks of Africa’s richest billionaires.
Four years ago, Otedola, proved to the world that he is indeed a genius and a cognoscenti when it comes to investment and the art of making money.
When he announced that he would be quitting the oil and gas sector by selling off his shares in Forte Oil in June 2019, many business analysts saw this as a wrong move.
Reason: they could not fathom why he should quit the business that had given him fame.
But he followed his intuition, and it has turned out to be one of his best investment decisions ever. It is fact that he knows when to invest and when to re-invest.
Little wonder, his fans and those who know him well maintained that he still has the magic with which he turned around the moribund African Petroleum, AP, which he rechristened Forte Oil.
Besides, they insisted that Otedola must have thought it out.
As predicted, Otedola, who is blessed with a proven magic wand, successfully re-jigged the company from its former declining state to a flourishing one that became a brand to beat in the sector.
Indeed, barely four years after he diversified into the power business with Geregu Power Plant, he has proven that he is a master of the game.
Evidence that his N64.3bn investment in the energy sector, Geregu Power Plant, is already giving his rival a sleepless night is that the company is not only yielding good profits, it has changed the energy sector for good.
He has yet scored another first as his electricity generation company has been listed on the Nigerian Exchange (NGX), to allow the public become part owners by buying the company’s shares.
Geregu Power Plant, it was gathered, had a market capitalisation of N250 billion when it was listed on the Nigerian stock exchange on October 5, 2022, through way of introduction.
The public listing comes at a time when the power plant wants to expand its operations by acquiring another power plant, Geregu 2, which has a capacity of 434 MW.
This will increase Geregu Power Plant’s capacity to 735 MW. It is expected to also positively impact the company’s revenue, which rose to N70.9 billion in 2021, recording a 32.3 per cent year-on-year growth last year.
Geregu Power Plc, became the first power generating company to be listed on the NGX.
What a feat and astounding success from the man many loved to be called champion extraordinaire!
It was a seven-star performance for Chain Reactions Africa (CRA), one of Africa’s leading Public Relations and Integrated Communications Consultancy as it took home seven African SABRE trophies, more than any other public relations firm in Africa in the 2024 competition.
The awards which were held at the end of the annual African Public Relations Association (APRA) Conference, were presented by Provoke Media, organisers of the awards in Basam, Abidjan, Cote D’Ivore on May 16th 2024.
The work covered campaigns for the Lagos Metropolitan Area Transport Authority (LAMATA), and its Lagos Blue Rail, 9mobile’s The Hack – Expand Your Hustle’, ‘Taming the Bull’ for the Presidency, ‘Next Era of Happiness’ for leading biscuit company, Pladis Foods Nigeria Limited.
Receiving the awards on behalf of Chain Reactions and its clients, was its Managing Director/Chief Strategist, Israel Opayemi, who noted that this is a seven-star performance by Chain Reactions Africa at the 2024 SABRE Awards.
In his comments Opayemi said “to emerge as the highest winner at the 2024 edition of the award with seven SABRE Awards is humbling as well as exciting for us at Chain Reactions Africa. We are immensely proud to be honoured on such a global platform like the SABRE awards which is the holy grail of Public Relations globally as the awards programme is dedicated to benchmarking the best PR works across the globe.”
He continued, “I am making a three-fold dedication of these multiple trophies to our clients who believe in us, my team members who do the brave works relentlessly and our dear country Nigeria. Ten years ago, we were at the SABRE Awards in Miami, Florida in the United States watching and applauding as winners took turn on stage. Ten years ago, we were asking for a seat at the table. Today, we are sitting in creative resplendence at the head of the table. Today, we are flying the Nigerian flag on the global stage. We are now a territory of reckon and relevance in the global PR space.”
It seems winning awards is just a Chain Reactions thing, chuckled Arun Sudhaman CEO and Editor-in-Chief of Provoke Media, organizers of the SABRE Awards as Opayemi rose up seven times to receive the awards. The PR consultancy also picked up four Certificates of Excellence in recognition of its work launching the Nigerian Youth Trend Report 2024 known as ‘ARAMANDA’, ‘Next Era of Happiness’, ‘Lagos Blue Rail’, ‘The Hack – Expand Your Hustle’, and ‘Taming the Bull’.
In his reaction, President and Chairman of Council of the Nigerian Institute of Public Relations (NIPR) described the awards by Chain Reactions Africa as “a harvest of honours for Nigeria”. He thanked the Chain Reactions Africa team for their outstanding works saying, “thank you for making us proud.”
Chain Reactions Africa has over the years won several prestigious SABRE awards and has been awarded more than 15 Certificates of Excellence. At last year’s award, the company won CEO of the Year category for the Lagos State Governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu for use of public relations to tell the story of his administration’s achievements and scooped two Certificates of Excellence in the Corporate Image category for the ‘Momentum Campaign’ for Cellulant, a flagship payment solution provider; and ‘Marketing to Consumers’ category for ‘The #NaijaHighlandah Campaign’ for William Lawson’s, Scotch Whiskey brand.
The 2024 Africa SABRE Awards shortlist included more than 120 campaigns, selected from over 500 entries in this year’s competition, which recognises Superior Achievement in Branding, Reputation and Engagement. The campaigns were evaluated by a jury of industry leaders.
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