News • Nigeria • Family

Okoya Family Says Fatai Is Third Child, Not First

By Sojworldnews • October 24, 2026

The family of billionaire industrialist Razaq Okoya has pushed back against claims by his estranged son, Fatai. The family says Fatai is the third child, not the first. It also says he received four Lagos flats and financial support from his father. The statement answers a public appeal in which Fatai asked for reconciliation after about 40 years.

Nathaniel Omeninwan, senior public relations manager at Eleganza Industries Limited, signed the statement on behalf of the family. He released it to journalists on Thursday. As a result, a private family quarrel has become a very public dispute.

“Fatai Okoya (who is in fact the third child of Aare Rasaq Okoya, CON).”

Fatai had earlier described himself as the first child. He told an online interviewer that a dispute over money and his marriage to a woman his father did not approve of caused the rift. He also said he had tried for decades to make peace, and he apologised in an open letter. Furthermore, he said he sought only time with his father, not money or inheritance.

The family disagrees with parts of that account. First, it says Fatai “has benefited immensely from his father and continues to benefit to date.” Second, it says he lives in four flats that his father gave him in Ogunlana, Surulere, Lagos. Third, it says Razaq Okoya has at times paid his medical bills.

The family also says Fatai fell out with his father and stopped visiting long before Razaq Okoya married Shade Okoya. In addition, it describes an earlier effort at peace. According to the statement, four influential family friends held an all-night meeting more than 40 years ago. Afterwards, the father agreed to settle Fatai with what he asked for, and the family says that promise was carried out.

Fatai had accused Shade Okoya of blocking him from greeting his father at a birthday event. The family rejects that. It says Shade was introduced to him at the medical outreach for Razaq Okoya’s 86th birthday. According to the statement, a relative then advised him that the venue was not the right place to raise grievances. Fatai accepted the advice and left, the family says. It adds that Shade exchanged pleasantries with him and that several guests witnessed it.

The statement also carries a warning about family policy. It says the businessman has supported every relative, including those who started their own businesses. However, it says he has repeatedly stated that any child who will not respect his wishes is on their own.

Importantly, the family criticised the way the dispute has played out. It accused Fatai of taking private disagreements public to win sympathy and discredit other relatives. It asked the media and the public to respect its privacy. “No misunderstanding can be settled online,” the statement said, and it urged any relative with a grievance to use private family channels.

Readers should note what remains unverified. Sojworldnews has not independently confirmed the birth order, the flats or the events at the birthday outreach. Each side’s version comes from its own account. Fatai had not responded to the family’s statement at the time of the reports we reviewed. Razaq Okoya has also not publicly addressed the estrangement himself. Meanwhile, one account places Fatai’s claim of being turned away at the businessman’s 86th birthday, while another report ties it to his 80th birthday in January 2026, so the dates differ between reports.

For now, two competing accounts stand side by side, and only the people involved can settle them. Family disputes of this kind often end in private talks, and many Nigerians will hope this one does too.

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