Nigeria’s manufacturing sector has some of the most influential and richest men in the country. Oba Otudeko, who clocks the golden age of 80 on Friday (today), is a well-known industrialist.
Otudeko may be the chairman, overseeing board meetings and making sure his billion-dollar conglomerate is effective in implementing the company’s direction, but the day-to-day running of the business is carried out by a select group of technocrats, two of whom are his children.
For more than five decades, business empires such as Honeywell Group under Otudeko’s tutelage have stood the test of time despite economic challenges and political uncertainties that killed a number of other businesses.
Otudeko’s tenacity also ensured the business empire survived difficult periods by adapting to changing market conditions, diversifying its operations, and investing in innovation despite economic headwinds.
New findings showed the industrialist is preparing his children (Moyo, Obafemi and Folake) for the onerous task of running the company.
Obafemi currently has the company’s second-largest indirect shares of 618 million units at Honeywell Flour Mills Plc as of August 17, 2023.
He is also the managing director of the Honeywell Group and is responsible for providing strategic direction and oversight to the group’s portfolio companies and investments; he started out as senior manager of projects (oil and gas) about 20 years ago.
Further findings showed Obafemi has led several key initiatives, including chairing the IPO committee responsible for the successful capital market listing and capital raising for the group’s flour milling investment, coordinating its efforts in the completion, capital raising, and opening of the five-star Radisson Blu Hotel in Lagos.
Moyo Otudeko-Ogunseinde is the CEO of Uraga Real Estate Ltd, a company owned by Oba Otudeko. She directs all day-to-day operations of a $250 million commercial and residential real estate portfolio in key locations within Nigeria.
Tomi Otudeko is the head of corporate services, overseeing various functions for Honeywell Group Limited, including strategy and project execution, human resources, information technology, communications, administration, and facilities management.
She has been with the company for only five years but helped set up Itanna, Honeywell Group’s corporate venture investing platform.
BusinessDay’s findings showed Otudeko owns several other valuable, privately-held, unquoted companies that add hundreds of millions of dollars to his wealth.
Barbican Capital
Barbican Capital, an investment bank and corporate advisory firm, is one of the major companies owned by Otudeko. The firm accumulated shares of about 4.8 billion units in FBN Holdings, the parent company of Nigeria’s oldest lender FirstBank, translating to a 13.3 percent holding, according to the document seen by BusinessDay.
That is more than twice the portion held by another business mogul, Femi Otedola, who in late 2021 had acquired a 7.6 percent interest in the financial services group via off-market deals.
Barbican Capital was registered in Nigeria on March 9, 2023 and has Obafemi Otudeko and Oyeleye Foluke as persons with significant control, according to BusinessDay’s check with Nigeria’s Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC).
Broadview Engineering Limited
According to Billionaires Africa, another company owned by Otudeko is Broadview Engineering Limited, an engineering firm focused on optimising local content to create value and jobs in the oil and gas sectors in Nigeria and across West Africa.
Data from CAC showed Broadview Engineering was registered in Nigeria on September 29, 1999 and has Oba Otudeko and Wole Osinupebi as persons with significant control.
HOGL Energy Limited
HOGL (formerly Honeywell Oil and Gas Limited) is a downstream oil and gas operating firm with a focus on marketing and distributing white fuels such as diesel, kerosene, petrol, and lubricants to industrial and commercial customers.
According to HOGL, the company operates tank farms with a combined capacity of 48,000MT in Apapa, Lagos, and Calabar, Cross Rivers State, serving as fuel storage facilities. It also owns an 8,800,000-liter capacity lubricant blending plant in Ilupeju, Lagos.
HOGL was registered in Nigeria on September 18, 1995 and has Otudeko as the major individual with significant control, according to CAC.
Pivot GIS
Another company linked to Otudeko is Pivot GIS Limited, which specialises in providing engineering, procurement, construction, operations and maintenance services to Nigeria’s energy sector.
CAC’s data identified Otudeko and his wife Adebisi Otudeko as persons with significant controlling interests in the company. The company was registered on November 3, 2o04.
Shoreline Logistics Nigeria
The company is a port facility operator and logistics base services provider offering coastal services and logistics solutions tailored to clients’ diverse needs.
According to Shoreline, the company has operational bases in Calabar, including NPA Old Port, Calabar, and Mclver Jetty, which serve as bases for clients’ Tropical West Africa operations.
Data from CAC showed Shoreline Logistics is owned by Broadview Engineering Limited (a company owned by Otudeko) and another company identified as Coastland Energy Logistics Limited.
Anchorage Leisures
According to Billionaires Africa, Anchorage Leisures, a hospitality company that specialised in luxury hotel development, belongs to Otudeko.
According to the firm’s website, its flagship development is the Radisson Blu Anchorage Hotel, Lagos, a 170-room, five-star hotel in the heart of Victoria Island.
The property operates in partnership with Radisson Hotel Group, one of the world’s largest hotel groups.
All efforts to locate the firm on CAC proved abortive.
Uraga Real Estate
It is a real estate development company focusing on developing residential and commercial properties for sale and lease.
Uraga Real Estate developed and owns the Upbeat Recreation Centre in Lagos, which includes West Africa’s first trampoline park.
Data from CAC showed Uraga Real Estate was registered in Nigeria on November 18, 2008, with Otudeko as the only person with significant control.
Pavilion Technology:
The company is a provider of end-to-end vertical technology and security infrastructure solutions, as well as smart data platforms for businesses.
Pavilion Technology also designs and builds technology infrastructure with state-of-the-art cyber and electronic security systems, facilitating the implementation of Internet of Things initiatives.
CAC’s data identified Oba Otudeko, Adebisi Otudeko, Ibitayo Bolodeoku, Moyosore Ogunseinde, Obafolajimi Otudeko, Ifeoluwa Otudeko, Tomilola Otudeko, Obafemi Otudeko and Foluke Oyeleye as persons with significant controlling interests in the company. The company was registered on May 15, 1984.
Dipo Oladehinde is a skilled energy analyst with experience across Nigeria’s energy sector alongside relevant know-how about Nigeria’s macro economy. He provides a blend of market intelligence, financial analysis, industry insight, micro and macro-level analysis of a wide range of local and international issues as well as informed technical rudiments for policy-making and private directions.
(BusinessDay)
