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The Chairman of the House of Representatives North West Caucus, Hon. Sada Soli (APC, Katsina), has expressed disapproval over the recent invasion of Dangote Industries in Lagks by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
He emphasised that such actions pose a risk to both foreign and domestic investments.
It would be recalled that last week Thursday, operatives of the EFCC stormed the Lagos Head Office of the Dangote Group.
The visit is understood to be related to the forex allocations to the group from 2015 to the time Godwin Emefiele was suspended by President Bola Tinubu as the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).
In a reaction to the visit, the Chairman of the Dangote Group, Aliko Dangote, denied any wrongdoing and expressed his willingness to collaborate with the anti-graft agency in helping with its investigations.
However, a source in the EFCC, which was quoted on the matter by The Nation, confirmed that the anti-graft agency visited Dangote Group Headquarters with a search warrant for some vital documents on forex allocations to the company from 2014 to 2023 during the tenure of former Governor of Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Godwin Emefiele.
The source disclosed that EFCC operatives decided to visit the Dangote office because the company was not forthcoming with the documents it was requested to provide.
The source, however, stated that the visit was not a raid as the EFCC visited the company with a search warrant and also allowed staff, customers and visitors to go in and out of the place.
However, the Chairman of the House Committee on Water Resources, Hon. Sada Soli, further voiced his disapproval in a statement issued in Abuja on Friday.
He urged President Bola Tinubu and all conscientious Nigerians to step in and address the issue of preferential foreign exchange allocations. He stressed the importance of maintaining decorum to prevent any potential implosion.
He said, “As a concerned citizen and a member of parliament, my foremost concern is that this country remains stable, progressive and united, and when actions which are capable of causing disharmony are taken, I have a sworn duty to speak out and express an opinion.
“I write to express concern over the recent invasion of the premises of the Dangote Industries Limited in Ikoyi, Lagos, by operatives of the anti-graft agency, ostensibly to collect documents relating to alleged abuse of foreign exchange allocations during the nine-year tenure of the immediate past governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, Godwin Emefiele.
“There is the added concern that some fifty other companies, some of them the biggest private businesses in the country, including BUA Group and Flour Mills, TGI and Wale Tinubu’s Oando PLC, among sundry others, all of whom have denied wrongdoing, are being probed for details of the forex allocations to them between 2014 and June 2023 following the report of the Special Investigator on the CBN and Related Entities, Jim Obazee.
“While there is no denying the fact that the anti-graft agency is within its rights to undertake such a probe or that it has done a very good job of ridding the nation of economic saboteurs in the past, it is nonetheless necessary to point out that the way the agency had gone about this probe, by storming offices and making a spectacle of itself in the public space, is both counter-productive and capable of sending the wrong signals. It must resist the temptation of acting on the impulse of some influential people in government with dubious agenda“.
According to Sada, who represents Jibia federal constituency of Katsina state, “It is certainly not the proper way to handle matters at a time when Nigeria is going through one of its worst economic crises in history with inflation going through the roof, rising foreign investment outflows from Nigerian stocks, and the lowest foreign direct investment in our economy since the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) started collating the data in 2013.
“As the government anxiously recalibrate the fiscal and monetary policies of the nation in order to attract investors and stave off recession, the harassment of the key contributors to the GDP and biggest taxpayers whose businesses help deepen the growth of our economy, promote self-reliance in the production of local products and provide employment and income for millions of Nigerians, is worrisome.
“It is especially sad that this is happening shortly after the new head of the financial crime commission promised to deviate from the previous show of force and trial by media that had hampered the agency’s efforts in successfully prosecuting many of its high-profile cases.
“It should be clear by now that it is better to conduct forensic investigations through careful, rigorous effort and diligent prosecution by accomplished professionals than employ this gung-ho show of shame that only exposes the agency’s disrespect for etiquette and rule of law.
“When the nation’s foremost anti-corruption agency goes about storming some the nation’s biggest and most respected businesses as if it is attacking a drug cartel, the impression is given that these internationally respected companies, listed on the stock exchange of several countries, are involved in shady business and unworthy of being taken seriously.
“I have known President Bola Tinubu since 1993 when he was a senator, and I was a young legislative officer in the National Assembly, and he remains someone who is very passionate about protecting the business environment and the investment climate in Lagos and Nigeria.
“Such brazen attack on big business is certainly against the pedigree of the man whose election was greeted by a bullish spike in the nation’s stock market, heralding a new era for commerce as befitting a leader whose genius for converting potential into reality helped turn Lagos into a global financial centre contributing 30 percent of the nation’s GDP.
“In his 2024 New Year message, President Bola Tinubu reiterated that ‘Nigeria is ready and open for Business,’ further underlining his determination to revive an economy in dire straits with big businesses leaving in droves“.
The lawmaker emphasised that over the past year, prominent multinational companies, such as Unilever, GSK, Sanofi-Aventi Nigeria, Bolt Food, Jumia Food, Equinor Nigeria Energy Company (ENEC), and Procter and Gamble, have left Nigeria, contributing to increased unemployment and negatively impacting the economic indicators.
He highlighted the importance of not discouraging investment from influential entities like Wale Tinubu, BUA Group, and Dangote, emphasising their significant role as major employers and contributors to the economy.
The legislator acknowledged the necessity of ensuring companies adhere to laws but cautioned against employing potentially calamitous methods that could create a hostile business environment.
He stressed the need to protect national companies, offering suggestions such as waivers, pioneer status tax holidays, and incentives, citing examples from other countries like the United States, China, and Europe.
The lawmaker further expressed concern about the rumoured misuse of a forex probe as a pretext to gain control over Dangote Refinery, potentially harming northern interests.
While acknowledging the absence of conclusive proof, he emphasised the importance of avoiding the perception that the government is targeting the interests of the wealthiest northerners, urging the need for more innovative and fearless individuals in the country’s development phase.
Continuing, the lawmaker noted that “In the last one year alone, some of the most iconic multinational companies, including Unilever, GSK, Sanofi-Aventi Nigeria, Bolt Food, Jumia Food, Equinor Nigeria Energy Company, ENEC, and Procter and Gamble among others, have left the country and created more jobless Nigerians thus worsening our economic index.
“This is, therefore, not the time to discourage the investment drive of the Wale Tinubus, BUA Group, Dangote and the rest whose companies are the largest employers of labour outside the Nigerian government.
“Many of their subsidiaries enjoy pioneer or trailblazer statuses, and they are strategically embedded in the Nigerian economy like an octopus, and any attempt to strip them will have a debilitating effect on our economy and our quest to lure in foreign investors.
“It does not mean that companies should not be made to obey the laws, but we cannot afford to antagonise unnecessarily companies which have invested tens of billions of dollars into the economy and remain our best hope in turning the economy around.
“Our anti-graft agencies would do better to employ the best practices for handling infractions and not use such potentially calamitous methods which are capable of further creating a hostile environment for business.
“It is imperative to note that capital is a coward and runs away from trouble spots. In a competitive marketing environment where nations are struggling to avoid capital flight, it is incumbent on the government to give as much protection to its national companies as possible, and this includes waivers, pioneer status tax holidays, and generous incentives.
“Every country, from the United States, to China and most of Europe, have been known to give these breaks to their biggest employers of labour and largest contributors to GDP.
“For instance, Dangote Petroleum Refinery, the largest single-train refinery in the world, has just received its fifth instalment of crude oil shipment of Bonny Light from the NNPC, bringing it closer to its plan to begin operation of its 650,000 barrels per day behemoth which will no doubt save Nigeria enormous foreign exchange. It is the pride of Africa, and with NNPCL having a 20 percent stake in the refinery, it is important to ensure that everything is done to help the company become viable.
“Already, there are rumours that some hawks within the corridors of power are using the excuse of a forex probe as a shakedown in order to get a toehold into Dangote Refinery, to reap where they had not sown.
“While there is yet no conclusive proof of this, the fact is that perception can sometimes triumph over reality, and the impression should not be given that the government is trying to attack northern interests by subjecting the richest northerner, Nigerian and African, with the largest conglomerate in the region, to unnecessary harassment.
“Nigeria needs more innovative, fearless men and women with the right business acumen, not less, at this struggling phase of our development”.
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