Deji Elumoye in Abuja
President Muhammadu Buhari felicitated businessman, philanthropist, and Chairman, Geregu Power. Plc, Mr. Femi Otedola, on his 60th birthday anniversary today. Otedola would mark the event on the French Riviera aboard the 99.13-meter-long Christina O Yacht, once owned by the Late Greek shipping tycoon, Aristotle Onassis.
Buhari, in a statement issued yesterday by his media adviser, Femi Adesina, joined the Otedola family, friends, and associates to celebrate the milestone.
Buhari gave thanks to the Almighty God, “Who has showered Otedola with grace for business success and prosperity, clearly reflected in his knack for investments in key sectors of the economy, like oil and gas, shipping, real estate, finance, and energy.”
The president affirmed that Otedola’s interest in the real sector, creating employment for many, supporting infrastructure development, and opening opportunities for others to thrive was an asset to the country. He highlighted Otedola’s interventions to help individuals, families, and the underprivileged.
Buhari celebrated Otedola for always honouring calls to national service, serving as a member of the Nigerian Investment Promotion Council (NIPC), and National Economic Management Council, and consistently providing a sounding board for economic and development policies.
The president prayed that God would keep the investor and his family in good health and strength.
The National Peace Committee (NPC) recently appointed Otedola as one of its members. He was also recently appointed Chancellor of Augustine University.
Otedola’s daughter, Ifeoluwa, “DJ Cuppy”, had posted videos on her Instagram page on Wednesday showing the business tycoon, his wife, and children celebrating at a private, intimate soiree, off the coast of Italy on the famous yacht, which has a rich history and has hosted some of the world’s most historic figures.
Plying the seas first as a World War II Canadian frigate and then as a private luxury vessel starting in 1954, the Christina O is a piece of floating history. Aristotle Onassis purchased the vessel in 1954 and named it after his daughter Christina. When Onassis married Jacqueline Kennedy, widow of the late U.S. President John F. Kennedy, in 1968, the couple held their reception on the Christina O.
The yacht also hosted famous guests, such as former British Prime Minister Winston Churchill, former US President Franklin Roosevelt, Jr., John F Kennedy, Music legends, Frank Sinatra, Elizabeth Taylor, and a host of other influential personalities around the world.
