Dangote: What EFCC raid could do to our economy and investors – Reps member, Ikenga

Hon. Ikenga Ugochinyere Ikeagwuonu, a member of the House of Representatives who represents the Ideato North/South Federal Constituency, has voiced concerns regarding the raid on the Dangote Group headquarters by agents of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, or EFCC.

The EFCC searched the Dangote Group headquarters on Thursday as part of an ongoing probe into the nation’s forex allocations.

It was stated that when the EFCC agents arrived to the Dangote firm’s headquarters in Lagos, they requested documentation on the foreign exchange that had been given to the firm during the previous ten years.

They then spent hours carefully going over the documents that the Group executives had given them, even carrying some of them away.

Ugochinyere, the chairman of the House Committee on Petroleum Resources, Downstream, responded to the news by stating that the raid had the potential to frighten investors and worsen the nation’s economic conditions.

The lawmaker claimed that raiding one of the biggest African corporations at a time when the country was fighting to salvage its weak economy was a bad idea that would further undermine attempts to stabilize the economy in a statement that was made available to ZINGTIE on Friday.

Ugochinyere said, “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).

“I’m of the view that the timing of the raid on Dangote Group is not only very suspicious, but most importantly capable of worsening the economic situation and scaring investors.

“In the last few months, our nation has lost so many foreign investors. While some of the foreign companies operating in the country are leaving, potential investors are also sidelining us.

“Now you have the EFCC raiding the headquarters of the largest industrial conglomerates in West Africa.

“This is not good for us internationally. What will the international community think of Nigeria when they read about news like this? Dangote Group’s impact for decades has been felt through various facets of Nigeria’s economy.

“And given our current fragile economic situation, I believe this move by the EFCC will worsen things.

“Now is not the time for this; it’s time for the nation to focus on integration of African economies and expansion of trade and investments across the continent to stimulate growth and create employment opportunities.”

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