Ugochinyere Reacts To EFCC Raid On Dangote Head Office

A chieftain of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Ikenga Ugochinyere, has reacted to the raid on the headquarters of the Dangote Group in Lagos State by operatives of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).

Naija News reports that Ugochinyere is a member of the House of Representatives representing Ideato North/South Federal Constituency of Imo State.

Recall that EFCC operatives had on Thursday raided the headquarters of the Dangote Group in connection with an ongoing investigation into forex allocations in the country.

It was reported that on arrival at the Dangote headquarters, the EFCC operatives demanded documents relating to the allocation of foreign exchange to the Group in the last 10 years.

But in a statement on Thursday night, Ugochinyere said the raid on the company was a wrong move which would further erode efforts to stabilise the economy and send negative signals to foreign investors.

He added that the EFCC raid L one of the largest conglomerates in Africa at a time when the nation was grappling to save its fragile economy looked bad for the Bola Tinubu government.

He said, “This evening, I read about the raid of the headquarters of the Dangote Group in connection with the 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 despite the word the nation is currently facing, raiding the headquarters of the largest industrial conglomerate in West Africa.

“The Dangote Group, with investments in several sectors and across 14 countries in Africa. This is not good look 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.

“The President of Dangote Industries Limited, Aliko Dangote. has helped transform our economy from heavy import dependence to a net exporter in some critical industries, including cement and Fertiliser. Given our current fragile economic situation, I believe this move by the EFCC will worsen things, now is not time for this, it’s time for the nation to focus on the integration of African economies and expansion of trade and investments across the continent to stimulate growth and create employment opportunities, not carrying out raids on its largest conglomerate.”