I’m Happy to See Femi Otedola’s Investing in Transcorp – Tony Elumelu

In an exclusive interview with Arise News, the Chairman of Transcorp Plc, Tony Elumelu, expressed his excitement at seeing Femi Otedola’s investment in the company. During the interview with Boason Omafaye from Arise Xchange, Mr. Elumelu reviewed Transcorp’s annual general meeting and provided an overall assessment of his time as the company’s Chairman.

Also Read: Otedola Increases Stake in Tony Elumelu’s Transcorp to 6.3%

When asked about Femi Otedola’s buying shares in the company, he noted, “First, Femi Otedola is my very good friend, there are only two people I follow on Instagram, my wife, and Femi Otedola. That tells you the level of friendship that we have.”

He added further, “I welcome Femi’s investment in Transcorp, that is what we want. People get sentimental and emotional for no reason.” When asked about both men holding sway in the power industry, he noted, “What’s wrong? there can be cross holdings. Abroad or even in Nigeria, we go on international roadshows, we go talk to investors, we tell them,  ‘Please come and invest in our business,’

“I’m happy to see an indigenous active investor community, and I’m happy that Femi is investing locally and he should be commended for that. And I also welcome his investment in Transcorp because the more people show interest in the activities, in the performance of the company, the more people invest in the company, the better for our shareholders.

“You [know] you want to make your stock investors’ toast and I’m happy that Transcorp has become investors toast.”

He spoke briefly about the company’s performance since his takeover in 2012.

“Remember Boason, about ten years before we took over Transcorp, people were not interested in Transcorp. When I wanted to buy [over] Transcorp, people who owned shares didn’t even find their certificates because they lost confidence in the company. Today, under our leadership, Transcorp has consistently, five years over now, paid dividends every year. It never happened in the history of the company before. There’s a [capital] appreciation for the company.

Also Read: Otedola’s Transcorp Takeover: What’s the Billionaire’s Game Plan?

“So when friends and the investing public come to invest in a company like this, it’s a validation. It tells you that they believe in your story, they believe in your vision, they believe in your management, they believe in your leadership, they believe in your competence. That’s what has been demonstrated, and I like my friend to come on board. I like the fact that he’s on board, and I look forward to working with him to take Transcorp to greater heights.

When asked about listing Transcorp Power on the Nigerian Stock Exchange, he responded, “No, I hear that rumour from time to time especially after some other competing institution was listed on the exchange,” referring to Geregu Power Plc that was the first power company to be listed on the exchange.

He added further, “We are long-term players, we want to grow more [and] significant value, we believe that there are a few more things for us to do in the power sector so that the sector can blossom. Transmission lines have to be fixed and the gas supply has to be fixed. And we believe that when we improve transmission and address the gas supply issues, that’ll be the right time.

Also Read: Tony Elumelu Says Transcorp to Power 25% of Nigerian Homes

“We are looking at about five years from now to list Transcorp Power. We believe that in about five years [time], the transmission lines would have been fixed and the gas supply to the power sector would have improved significantly.”

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