Oil baron, Ladi Jadesimi’s enduring grit and grace

For octogenarian oil baron, Chief Oladipupo Jadesimi, he seems to think too much exposure leads to a tainted glitz. That could be the reason the businessman has managed to stay partially invisible among the elite class of Nigeria’s urban society. Despite his status as one of Nigeria’s wealthiest men, Jadesimi loves his quiet lifestyle. He is not gregarious. The billionaire is not an overnight sensation but achieved success the old-fashioned way.
While a lot of Nigeria’s businessmen are perceived to be dishonest, Jadesimi has proven that by no means are all very wealthy people sleazy. As far back as in the eighties, the Oxford University-educated Jadesimi has been a wealthy lawyer and later, chartered accountant with successful practice in Nigeria and the United Kingdom. Indeed, he has been a millionaire in those good old days when there weren’t many millionaires in town. Then, Jadesimi owned a plush home on The Bishops Avenue in Hampstead —the so-called ‘Millionaires Row’ in the heart of London. He was to become even richer in the nineties when he began investing in the Nigerian oil industry. But he became renowned for his influential role in other various businesses across energy, finance, and real estate sectors. While he is the founder of Ladol Group —a leading Free Zone Industrial Park— his leadership extends to the boards of several companies and is currently Chairman of The Board – First City Monument Group Holding Company. Even now at 81, Jadesimi still conveniently exudes a powerful combination of grace and grit with his smooth ascension to the top of the oil industry’s greasy pole. He now chairs Aradel Holdings Plc, a company founded in 1992 and formerly known as Niger Delta Exploration & Production Plc. The company has evolved into a fully-integrated energy company with diversified interests across multiple oil and gas assets and a modular refinery. The dandy businessman owns 10,407,055 shares in Aradel Holdings, which translates to a 4.79 per cent stake, making him one of the company’s largest shareholders.
In recent developments, Jadesimi’s Aradel announced a robust 36 per cent increase in crude oil production, reaching 13, 250 barrels per day during the first quarter of 2024. But the icing on the cake for Jadesimi was when he led the company to achieve a significant milestone with the successful re-entry of Well 2ST in the Omerelu Field, leading to its inaugural oil production on 31 May, 2024. The achievement marks a pivotal moment for Jadesimi and Aradel. The company also owns a refinery situated in Ogbele, River State with a total refining capacity of 11,000 barrels per day. Amidst all these achievements, Jadesimi abhors public gaze outside his corporate engagements rather he chooses to live in his very own ultra-private bubble.