Nicolas Okoye, the co-founder of Transnational Corporation of Nigeria (Transcorp), has come out to debunk the claims by Prof Chukwuma Soludo, a former governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), that he (Soludo) was the brain behind Transcorp.

In his first governorship debate appearance on Arise News on Monday, November 1, 2021, Soludo, who is the candidate of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) repeated the claim that he founded Transcorp Plc.

But a video of Nicholas Okoye, a former Merrill Lynch banker, addressing the Anambra community in Lagos on Sunday, October 24, 2021 exposes Soludo as a liar.

While speaking to the audience at the meeting which held at the Southern Sun Hotel in Ikoyi, Mr Okoye revealed that Transcorp was his brainchild and he introduced the idea to former President Olusegun Obasanjo in America when the president was visiting former President Bill Clinton.

“When we were forming Transcorp, we held over ten meetings with President Obasanjo, Soludo was never in any of these meetings,” Okoye shared.

“At no point did President Obasanjo ask me to meet with Soludo and work with him.

“The registration documents of Transcorp Plc have my name and signature on it. Our first deal, the purchase of Nicon Noga Hilton Hotel, Abuja, which Val later transformed, I negotiated and signed all the documents.

“Soludo was never part of Transcorp. He was never on the board. He wasn’t part of the company. I am shocked that the former CBN Governor would make such false claims just to gain a political advantage.

“I have seen the video where Soludo claimed that he recruited Val into Transcorp. That cannot be true.

“By the time Val came to Transcorp, I had long left the company. Soludo was long gone as CBN Governor, Ndidi Okereke Onyiuke who can make the claims Soludo is making was also gone.

“It is a lie, please,” Okoye said.

Valentine Ozigbo is the immediate past President and Group CEO of Transcorp Plc where he led the conglomerate’s businesses in oil and gas, power, hospitality, agri-business, energy, and technology. During his time at the Transcorp Group, he won multiple awards which cemented his status as a global CEO.