Tony Elumelu and Femi Otedola are two admirable and incredibly successful billionaire businessmen who have built a solid and enduring friendship over the years. During an interview once, Tony Elumelu revealed that he considers Otedola not only a friend but a brother. This close relationship between the two successful businessmen is not unexpected, as they are both wealthy, similar in age, and notorious for their aggressive corporate tactics and hostile takeovers like sharks.
So, in April 2023, when the two billionaires locked horns in an attempt to become the single largest shareholder in multinational conglomerate Transcorp Group, many assumed that as friends, Elumelu and Otedola would go about it within the tenets of healthy, brotherly competition. But we all know that saying, there is no friendship in business. And just days after Elumelu beat him in the game and forced him to take a bow, Otedola has accused his friend, the Chairman of Transorp, of backstabbing. In a statement that Otedola released on May 8 of this year, the Chairman of Geregu Power lamented and recalled how Elumelu had betrayed him many times in the past even though he did business with him from a pure heart as his friend.
Did Elumelu truly betray his friend in the Transcorp dealings? What are the other times Elumelu backstabbed Otedola? Could this be the reason why the 60-year-old Billionaire once went bankrupt? And is this just another case proving that there is no friendship in business?
