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Billionaire businessman Femi Otedola has recounted how former President Olusegun Obasanjo persuaded him to fund the completion of the National Ecumenical Centre in Abuja with a donation of ₦300 million.
In an excerpt from his forthcoming memoir, Making It Big, seen by PREMIUM TIMES, Mr Otedola said the encounter took place in late 2005 during a breakfast meeting with Mr Obasanjo at his Ota farm in Ogun State.
“He was very warm, friendly and jovial that time around,” Mr Otedola recalled. “As we were eating, he would take yam from his plate and put it on mine. Same with some fried eggs. I was wowed. He’d won my heart.”
The businessman said Mr Obasanjo then turned the conversation to a stalled national project.
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“‘Femi,’ he said, ‘you know what I like about you? You have what everybody wants: money. I need you to kick-start the completion of the Ecumenical Centre in Abuja. I can’t use government money.’”
According to Mr Otedola, the former president narrated how he had come across the abandoned church project—also called the National Christian Centre—on his way to the airport and pledged to complete it without government funds.
The centre, conceived as a national monument similar to the National Mosque, had been abandoned for years due to a lack of funding.
“No problem,” Mr Otedola said he replied. “How much will it take to complete the project?”
“‘₦300 million,’ Mr Obasanjo reportedly responded. ‘But you should just contribute a small donation, to get things moving.’”
“No, Baba. I’ll do it all—anything for God.”
Mr Otedola said that just two days after the meeting—on a Friday—he delivered a bank draft for the full amount to Mr Obasanjo’s Abuja office.
“‘Baba, here’s the draft,’ I told him. But he said, ‘No, I can’t take it just like that. We need a witness. I need to make this public.’”
Although the oil magnate initially resisted publicity, the former president insisted the donation should be announced to inspire other wealthy Nigerians to support the project.
The presentation eventually took place in front of a national television crew from the Nigerian Television Authority (NTA).
The National Ecumenical Centre was subsequently completed and commissioned as the country’s foremost interdenominational Christian place of worship.
Mr Otedola, 62, is one of Nigeria’s most prominent businessmen and philanthropists, with investments spanning oil, power, shipping, and finance.
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He served as chairman of Forte Oil Plc before divesting from the company in 2019, and is currently the chairman of Geregu Power Plc. He is chairman of First HoldCo Plc.
His memoir, Making It Big, is set for public release later this month. The book chronicles his journey from modest beginnings to becoming one of Africa’s most influential entrepreneurs.
The memoir contains personal anecdotes, business lessons, and behind-the-scenes stories involving some of Nigeria’s most powerful political figures.
