What transpired between the former governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, Godwin Emefiele, and the Dangote Group, as regards foreign exchange transactions in the last eight years, may never be known until the Economic and Financial Crime Commission makes public its findings on that issue.
However, the way and manner the commission raided the headquarters of the Dangote Group because it wanted documents that have to do with foreign exchange transactions in the last nine or eight years is giving some Nigerians concerns.
The concerns that these Nigerians are expressing are that for a country that is looking for foreign investors, raiding the group’s headquarters will send a very wrong signal to the outside world. It may not give foreign investors enough confidence to look the way of Nigeria, and capable of worsening the economic situation and scaring investors away. Even the reputation of Nigeria is at stake.
They are, however, not saying the company should not be investigated if there are suspicions that some infractions have taken place in the course of its dealing with CBN. But such a brazen approach has wider implications economically than can be imagined. It is also capable of damaging the reputation of Aliko Dangote himself, internationally, if is not well managed. They believe the law should take its course if anyone breaks the law. But not in all cases that brute force is applied when trying to get at the root of some matters that could have wider negative consequences on the generality of the people.
Given the narratives of the Dangote group, it is true they got a letter of invitation from EFFC and they have submitted most of the things EFCC requested. While getting the remaining items, and pleading for more time to make them available, the operatives went to raid the headquarters.
The manner of operations is considered crude and uncivilized by those who have expressed concerns over the implications of government actions
A former managing director of Nigeria LNG, Dr. Godswill Ihetu, said: “Nigeria’s security agencies as well as our regulating agencies like to dramatize their operations, not knowing they damage the country’s reputation by so doing. Subtle and low-profile investigations are the way to go. Media trial and grandstanding seem designed for the public attention, to acknowledge that they are doing their work. Obazee is the latest actor.
In his remark, Babajide Soyode, a former general manager of Warri Refinery and Petrochemical Company, said: “EFCC behavior is a shame and disgrace on the whole nation. For one of us, who has laboured so obviously for the great good of the nation, to be treated like this depicts us a nation without taste and sense of decency. The only accusation, not confirmed, is that he obtained favour in allocation of forex, not that he stole anything.”
“I am maintaining that he has not been favored enough. All progressive countries of the world favor their entrepreneurs to encourage them to perform more. In this case, he should have received even more Forex. It is the shortage of forex that had been and continues to be, responsible singularly for our delayed completion of the Dangote Refinery. You can quote me if you wish. I am ashamed to be a Nigerian for the first time in my life. I pray God in His Infinite Mercy will forgive us. This is not nice at all!”
A member of the House of Representatives, representing Ideato North/South federal constituency of Imo State, Hon. Ikenga Ugochinyere Ikeagwuonu, has also expressed concerns over the raid on the headquarters of the Dangote Group.
EFCC operatives had on Thursday raided the headquarters of the Dangote Group in connection with the ongoing investigation into forex allocations in the country. It was reported that on arrival at the headquarters of one of Africa’s largest conglomerates in Lagos, the EFCC operatives demanded documents relating to allocation of foreign exchange to the Group in the last 10 years.
They then scrutinised the documents provided by officials of the Group for hours.
Ugochinyere, who’s the chairman, House Committee on Petroleum Resources (Downstream), said the raid on Dangote Group was very suspicious and capable of worsening the economic situation and scaring investors away.
According to him, raiding the company of one of the largest conglomerates in Africa at a time when the nation was grappling to save its fragile economy is a wrong move that will further erode efforts to stabilise the economy.
Ugochinyere said, “This evening, I read about the raid of the headquarters of the Dangote Group in connection with ongoing investigation into forex allocations in the country. The EFCC was reported to be investigating forex allocations to some companies during the tenure of Godwin Emefiele as Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).
Action Embarrassing
Dangote Industries Limited, while reacting to the situation, described the visit by officials of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to its headquarters in Lagos as embarrassing.
The EFCC on January 4, 2023, stormed the group’s office in Lagos amid a probe of 52 companies over forex transactions in the last 10 years.
Commenting on the development in a statement on Saturday, the foremost indigenous conglomerate disclosed that it received a letter from the EFCC on December 6, 2023, requesting details of all the foreign exchange allocated to it by the Central Bank of Nigeria from 2014 to the present.
Describing the request from EFCC as not being peculiar to Dangote Group, the company management said, “We understand similar letters were sent to 51 other Groups of companies requesting for same information spanning the same period.”
According to the statement, Dangote Group responded to the EFCC to acknowledge receipt of the letter whilst seeking clarification on the subsidiaries or companies within the Group that they required information on. It also requested additional time to compile and properly present the extensive documentation spanning ten years.
“However, the EFCC did not provide the clarification sought and did not honour the request for an extension, and insisted on receiving the complete set of documents within the limited timeframe.
The management of Dangote Group stated that “despite this constraint, we assured the EFCC of our commitment to providing the information and pledged to share documents in batches as we complete the compilation.”
According to Dangote Group, “On 4 January 2024, our team delivered the first batch of documents to the EFCC. However, officers of the EFCC did not accept the documents, insisting on visiting our offices to collect the same set of documents directly.
“Whilst our representatives were still at the EFCC’s office to deliver the documents, a team of their officers proceeded to visit our offices to demand the same documents in a manner that appeared designed to cause us unwarranted embarrassment. Worthy of note is the fact that the officials did not take any documents or files from our Head office during their visit as these were already in their office.
“We must emphasize that, to our knowledge, no accusations of wrongdoing have been made against any company within our Group. “At present, we are only responding to a request for information to assist the EFCC with their ongoing investigation.”
Stating its resolve to continue to play its key role in stimulating the domestic economy, Dangote Group declared, “As a law-abiding and ethical corporate citizen, we remain committed to providing the EFCC with all necessary information and cooperation. We have already delivered the first batch of documents and are actively working to compile and submit the remaining documents, in good time, to aid their investigation.
“Our Group is a key contributor to the national GDP, the largest employer in the private sector, one of the largest groups listed on the Nigerian Exchange, and one of the highest taxpayers in the country. “We remain steadfast in our belief in Nigeria’s commitment to the rule of law and its dedication to fostering an environment conducive to investment and value creation for both local and foreign investors.”
The company then called for the understanding and patience of all stakeholders and promised to inform them of any further developments.
It was gathered that the EFCC has widened its investigations into foreign exchange transactions during the tenure of former governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, Godwin Emefiele.
The investigation, it was further gathered, also included other top companies that got forex at the official rate from the CBN. All the companies including BUA Group and Flour Mills have all denied any wrongdoings in their communication to the anti-graft agency
