LAGOS — The family of billionaire industrialist Aare Rasaq Okoya has dismissed public allegations by Fatai Okoya, clarifying that he is the businessman’s third child, not the first, and that he has never been abandoned, continuing to benefit from substantial financial support from his father.
In a statement issued and signed by Nathaniel Omeninwan, Senior Public Relations Manager of Eleganza Industries Limited, the family expressed regret that Fatai had taken private family matters into the public domain “to attract public sympathy, gain attention and unjustifiably discredit other family members.”
Fatai had earlier gone public in mid-October with an open letter and TikTok Live appearances, describing himself as Okoya’s first son and appealing for forgiveness and reconciliation after what he said was more than 40 years of estrangement. He attributed the long-standing rift partly to a past disagreement involving money and his decision to marry a woman his father did not approve of. He also alleged that Chief Mrs Shade Okoya, the industrialist’s wife, blocked him from approaching his father during a medical outreach or birthday-related event marking Okoya’s 86th birthday earlier in 2026.
The family firmly rejected these accounts. It stated that Fatai is in fact the third child of Aare Rasaq Okoya, CON, and that the disagreement between father and son began long before Okoya’s marriage to Shade Okoya. “Fatai Okoya had fallen out with his father and stopped coming to see him long before his father’s marriage to Chief Mrs. Shade Okoya, MON,” the statement said.
On the claim of abandonment, the family detailed ongoing support: “Fatai Okoya has benefited immensely from his father and continues to benefit to date. He lives in, and has been given, four flats by his father in Ogunlana, Surulere, and has at times been receiving payment for his medical bills.” It further noted that Aare Okoya has publicly stated on numerous occasions that any of his children unwilling to respect, appreciate and abide by his wishes “is on their own.”
Regarding the encounter at the medical outreach organised around Okoya’s birthday, the family said Shade Okoya only exchanged pleasantries with Fatai. Another family member then advised him that the occasion was not the appropriate time or place to discuss his longstanding grievances. Fatai accepted the advice and left the venue, with several guests witnessing the interaction. “Other than exchanging pleasantries with him, Chief Mrs Shade Okoya, MON, said nothing to him that day,” the statement added.
The family also recalled that more than 40 years ago, four influential family friends intervened in an all-night meeting and advised Okoya to settle Fatai’s requests at the time, which was done.
Emphasising that private family disagreements cannot be resolved online, the statement appealed to the public and the media to respect the family’s privacy. It urged any family member with grievances to pursue them privately through established family channels rather than social media.
Aare Rasaq Okoya is the founder of the Eleganza Group, a major Nigerian manufacturing conglomerate. The family maintains that the issues raised remain internal matters best handled away from public scrutiny.
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