Williams Fatayo, co-founder and former CEO of Nigerian logistics startup truQ, has stepped down from the company’s leadership, ending a five-year journey marked by rapid innovation, operational pivots, and now, controversy. His departure, initially framed as a personal and visionary transition, has taken on new complexity following an official statement from truQ that cited “serious internal concerns related to financial accountability and corporate governance.”
Fatayo, who co-founded truQ in 2019 alongside Foluso Ojo, shared his version of events in a Medium post, describing the resignation as the result of personal and leadership differences with his co-founder. According to him, the decision came after a period of reflection and spiritual guidance.
“I always imagined I had 7–10 years to build truQ before we either got acquired or I stepped aside,” Fatayo wrote. “But that’s not how the story played out.”
However, truQ’s newly released statement tells a more sobering story. According to the company, the leadership transition occurred as early as February 2025 and followed unresolved governance concerns. “truQ underwent a leadership transition… following serious internal concerns related to financial accountability and corporate governance,” the statement noted.
From Vision to Venture
truQ was born from a simple but frustrating personal experience—an attempt to move a wardrobe across Lagos that turned into a multi-hour ordeal. Fatayo and Ojo realized that many small businesses faced similar inefficiencies. They began connecting people who needed transport with available vehicle owners using social media, long before the company even had a website. By the end of 2019, they had completed over 180 logistics moves.
The startup officially launched in early 2020 after the addition of Isaac Chikutukutu, a Zimbabwean entrepreneur they met at the World Youth Forum Startup Lab in Egypt. TruQ’s business model was asset-light: it didn’t own any trucks but connected transporters and clients via a digital platform, earning revenue through commissions.
Under Fatayo’s leadership, the company evolved through three major iterations:
- truQ 1.0, a logistics demand aggregator that enabled thousands of transport operators to fulfill tens of thousands of deliveries.
- truQ 2.0 (Siju by truQ), which introduced route optimization and delivery planning tools for large manufacturers and distributors.
- truQ 3.0, the company’s current form, a super-app offering operational support and financial services for commercial logistics fleets.
By 2024, truQ had processed millions of dollars in transactions and boasted industry-leading revenue margins.
Conflicting Narratives
While Fatayo described his exit as a difficult but necessary step following a breakdown in personal alignment with his co-founder, truQ’s official response points to more systemic issues. The company claimed that “significant inaccuracies and key omissions” were present in Fatayo’s personal account, although they chose not to engage in a public back-and-forth.
Instead, the statement emphasized that the company had since “strengthened internal controls, improved oversight, and remained focused on restoring and sustaining trust at all levels.” It also confirmed that the transition had been done in line with its bylaws, involving both the board and relevant authorities.
New Leadership, Same Mission
With Fatayo’s departure, Foluso Ojo—co-founder and former Chief Operating Officer—now leads truQ as CEO. The company expressed confidence in Ojo’s ability to build a culture rooted in “transparency, accountability, and long-term impact.”
Despite the leadership turbulence, truQ insists its mission remains unchanged: transforming logistics across Africa and empowering small-scale transporters with access to the tools and infrastructure they need to succeed.
A Legacy and a Lesson
Fatayo’s departure marks the end of a pivotal era at truQ. For five years, he led the company with entrepreneurial zeal, securing early investor backing, assembling a dedicated team, and shaping a vision that reimagined logistics for underserved markets. “I was privileged to flex the same creative power God himself flexed in Genesis 1,” he wrote.
Yet the divergence between Fatayo’s narrative and truQ’s statement reveals the more difficult realities of startup leadership — where passion, governance, and founder dynamics can collide. As truQ moves into its next phase under new leadership, the company faces the dual challenge of maintaining stakeholder trust while staying the course on its bold vision for African logistics.
