Nigerian Oil Tycoon Resigns from Office to Join Politics

• Rivers 2019: Amaechi Endorses Tonye Cole as APC Rivers Guber Candidate
• Tonye Cole resigns from Sahara Group after Amaechi’s nod on APC ticket
• APC chieftains stunned as Amaechi names billionaire businessman as the preferred gubernatorial candidate

Nigerian billionaire and co-founder of Sahara Group, Tonye Cole, has resigned from the board of directors of the company to join the 2019 governorship race in Rivers State.

The board of Sahara Group in a statement issued on Saturday said the Nigerian oilman was leaving the company in order to participate in active politics.

The resignation is coming a few days after the Minister of Transport, Rotimi Amaechi, refuted media reports that Mr Cole was his preferred choice for the Rivers governorship election, and not his longtime ally, Dakuku Peterside, who ran unsuccessfully against the current governor, Nyesom Wike, in the 2015 election.

Cole, 51, is looking to contest the governorship elections of Nigeria’s oil-rich Rivers state in the 2019 general elections.

Tonye Cole founded Sahara Group in 1996 along with his business partners – Tope Shonubi and Ade Odunsi. The company is now one of Africa’s largest integrated energy solution providers and operates businesses in the upstream, midstream, downstream and power sectors.