By Lateef Adegbite
The last may not have been heard about the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, under the close watch of Ola Olukoyede, investigation of foreign exchange allocation by the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, under Godwin Emefiele , to Dangote Industries and 51 other of Groups of companies between 2014 , during former President Goodluck Jonathan’s Administration to the present incumbent President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s government.
Given an insider information on the EFCC officials visits to the company’s Head office in Lagos, the nation’s commercial nerve center, to obtain details of foreign exchange allocated to it by the CBN from 2014 till date, Aliko Dangote, a multi-billionaire business mogul and President Dangote industries, had confirmed that at present the Group are only responding ‘’to a request for information to assist the anti-graft agency with their ongoing investigations into the CBN forex allocation under Emefiele’’.
Dangote, who could not hide feelings had said that on Thursday, December 6, 2023, the conglomerate had received a letter from the Olukoyede led agency requesting for details of all the foreign exchange transactions to the Dangote Industry by the CBN from 2014, during former President Jonathan’s Administration to the present Administration.
Dangote, who had described the Group as one of ‘’the key contributor of the country’s Gross Domestic Product, GDP, largest employer in the country’s private sector, one of the largest groups listed on the Nigerian Stock Exchange Market, NSE, and the highest taxpayers in Nigeria, had said that it had requested for an additional time from the agency ‘’to compile and properly present the extensive documentation spanning the 10 years’’.
He noted that the Commission did not provide the clarification sought by the group and did not also honour the company’s request for an extension of time but insisted on receiving ‘’the complete set of documents within the limited time frame’’.
The multi-billionaire business mogul, who incidentally is the President, Dangote Industries who did not want to make matters worse and who had played along with them was said to have assured the EFCC officials of the company’s commitment to providing the information requested’’ but pledged to share the documents in batches as the company complete the compilation’’.
In keeping with the Groups promise to deliver all the information requested to the Commission in batches, the company was said to have delivered the first batch of the documents on Tuesday, January 4, 2024 but were not accepted by the EFCC officials who were said to have insisted on coming to the Group’s head office in Lagos to collect the same set of documents directly.
An aggrieved Dangote, who was said to be in faraway in the North American country of the United States, US at the time of the EFCC officials raid of the Group office in Lagos, had revealed that whilst the company’s officials were still in Abuja, the Federal Capital Territory, FCT, to deliver the documents that had been requested by them, a team of the agency operatives stormed its Lagos office to demand the same set of documents that they had refused to accept in their office, thus describing’’ the visit as an unwarranted harassment’’.
It was gathered that the EFCC Operatives carted away some vital documents from the Group’s Head office but Dangote, the multi-billionaire President of the Group said the’’ the EFCC officials that stormed the company ‘s office never take any documents or files as the documents were already in their Abuja office’’.
The EFCC operatives may have given the Dangote Group officials the impression that their Corporate Head office was not the only one raided by the agency to get the real details of forex allocation between 2014 and till date but 51 other Conglomerates including the BUA Group to avoid the impression that the EFCC officials were on a witch-hunting mission.
There are indications that the Commission had earlier written over 85 entities, Corporate Organisations and individuals included in its quest’’ to unveil alleged fraudulent foreign exchange deals’’ that was said to have crippled the naira against the US dollar, at both the Autonomous and Parallel , popular, black market foreign exchange market rates during the time of Emefiele as governor of CBN.
Note that the Commission was said to have invited officials of the Dangote Industries and other affected entities and Corporate Organisations who were said to have been directed to come up with the details of documents of their foreign exchange transactions in the last 10 years.
The agency were said to have made the officials of the invited entities and Corporate Organisations to understand that the government agency is not out to witch-hunt any Company or individual but ‘’to probe the preferential treatment of foreign exchange allocation to some companies and individuals under Emefiele as CBN, governor against the extant financial rules and regulations and CBN Act’’. Informed sources told The Value News, that Dangote Group which is being investigated by the EFCC, was alleged to be one of the conglomerates which had benefited from the preferential foreign exchange allocations made by the former CBN, governor which was said to have facilitated the Group investment in $19 billion, 650,000b/d, refining and Petrochemical plant at Lekki, Free Trade Zone, in Lagos.
Recall that when the issue of the abuse of foreign exchange allocations to the 52 Companies and individuals by the former CBN filtered out in November 2023, officials of Dangote Industries had refuted the allegations that’’ it was involved in forex malpractices and money laundering to the tune of $3.4 billion’’ allegedly facilitated by Emefiele, the immediate past CBN governor. The Company was said to have denied the allegations that the money was channeled to its non-Nigerian subsidiaries , prompting illicit financial flows and round-tripping.
Dangote had repeatedly told those who cares to listen that the Group’s investment undertakings were financed from the interbank market stressing that all its transactions are supported by Letters of Credit, LC, from the CBN, in line with international standards.
The Leadership of the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria, MAN, may not want the names of Corporate members be dragged to the mud by the EFCC, over forex allocation by CBN. Segun Ajayi Kadir, Director –General, MAN, who had broken his silence on the vexed issue has warned against witch-hunt by the EFCC that may scare the big –time investors like the multi-billionaire Dangote from further investing in the country.
Describing the invasion of Dangote Industries Limited Lagos office by EFCC officials as unfortunate, he noted that ‘’it is something that the President needs to look into in a very serious manner whether ‘’we are going to continue to encourage private investment , and how to deal the likes of Dangote and other big players, who are champions , without any doubt’’.
He was emphatic. Dangote industry is an institution, it’s one of the biggest manufacturing entities in the country, not only in Nigeria, but in Africa, which had employed thousands of people., noting that it’s one of the companies that the Leadership of MAN rely upon to get the country out of the present forex mess.
The MAN Director-General may have sent a message to the Leadership of EFCC to watch it, stating that if the forex allocation to the 52 Corporate members of the Association if not properly handled ‘’it will scare foreign investors from investing in the Nigerian economy’’.
Kadir, the MAN, Director –General, would want ‘’the EFCC, to come out to give some form of explanation that will not only reassure the officials of the Dangote Group but will further assure other domestic investors that their investments are safe’’.
There is no gain saying the fact that the EFCC , may have taken the probe of the Dangote Group and the 52 other entities and Corporate Organisations including individuals serious because Jim Obazee, the Special Investigator on the CBN, had reported to President Tinubu that the forex allocations to the companies and individuals were not approved by tformer President Buhari, an indications it was more of a means for the former apex bank helmsman and his cronies to engage in money laundering through forex sales using the Bureau DE ‘Change Operators.
More worrisome was the Obazee’s report that Emefiele had lodged public funds in foreign currencies in no fewer than 593 bank accounts in the US, United Kingdom, UK, and the Asian country of China without the approval of the apex bank’s Board of Directors and the Bank Investment Committee.
The Special CBN Investigator had reported that the former CBN governor allegedly lodged 543,482,213 pound sterling in fixed deposits in UK Banks without authorization , noting that he allegedly manipulated the naira exchange rate and committed much fraud in the e-naira project.
The CBN Special Investigator ‘s report that the Delta state born former CBN governor had refunded a whopping sum of N4 trillion to the coffers of the Federal government while Tunde Lemo, the then Deputy CBN , governor reportedly refunded $500 million speaks volume.
In a related development, President Tinubu’s no sacred cow policy appears to have hit Betta Edu, minister of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Alleviation , who was said to have been suspended from office with immediate effect over the alleged transfer of N585,189,500.00 to one Oniyelu Bridget Mojisola Account for four states. The question on the lips of most people is : who is Oniyelu Bridget Mojisola and why is a single personal account taking cash for four states?
It was learnt that the suspended minister of the had instructed the office of the Accountant General of the Federation to disburse the over half a billion naira grant meant for vulnerable roups in Akwa Ibom, Cross river, Ogun and Lagos states to the personal account of one Oniyelu Bridge Mojisola.
Although, Rasheed Zubairu, Media Aide to the minister ha said that the payment into Mojisola, who currently serves as the project Accountant of Grants for the vulnerable group in the ministry followed due process but the President would not take it as he was said to have suspended her from office with immediate effect.
Determined to get to the root of the matter, the former Lagos state governor was said to have asked the EFCC to conduct thorough investigation into all aspects of the financial transactions involving the Federal ministry of Humanitarian and Poverty Alleviation , as well as one or more agencies under the ministry.
Another panel headed by Wale Edun, minister of Finance and Coordinating minister of the Economy probing the embattled minister financial scam have been asked among other things ‘’to conduct a comprehensive diagnostic on the financial architecture and framework of the social Investment Program mes of the ministry with a view to conclusively reforming the relevant Institutions and program mes in a bid to eliminate all institutional frailties for the exclusive benefit of disadvantaged households and win back lost public confidence in the initiative.
While the current minister of Humanitarian and Poverty Alleviation has been suspended from office by President Tinubu, over alleged transfer of more than half a billion naira to the personal account of one Oniyely Bridget Mojisola, Hajia Sadiya Umar-Farouq, immediate past mister of Humanitarian Affairs , Disaster Management and Social Development under the former Buhari’s Administration and who was earlier investigated by the anti-graft agency over allegations of Corruption in the handling of N37,170,855,753.44 billion in social intervention funds laundered under her close watch by a contractor, one James Okwe.
The former minister of the Federal ministry of Humanitarian Affairs, Disater Management and Social Development , rebaptised as the ministry of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Alleviation who is being investigated by the EFCC, had written in her official social Media handle on Monday, January, 8, 2024, that at her behest, she has arrived at the EFCC Headquarters in Abuja, the Federal Capital Territory, FCT, to honour the invitation by the agency ‘’ to offer clarifications in respect of some issues that the Commission is investigation’’ . She was said to have been detained.
