A member of the House of Representatives says a raid by anti-graft officials on the offices of Dangote Industries Ltd, controlled by billionaire Aliko Dangote, will deter investors and harm the economy.
“The raid on Dangote Group is not only very suspicious, but most importantly capable of worsening the economic situation and scaring investors,” said Ikenga Ikeagwuonu, chairman of the House committee on petroleum resources, according to Bloomberg.
“What will the international community think of Nigeria when they read about news like this?”
Operatives from the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission raided the Lagos headquarters of Dangote Group on Thursday.
An EFCC source said the raid was part of an ongoing probe into Godwin Emefiele, the former head of the Central Bank of Nigeria.
A report by a special investigator found irregularities found irregularities and suspected fraud at the central bank under Mr Emefiele. The investigator has reported questionable allocation of foreign exchange by the bank.
The House must hear this
Mr Ikeagwuonu said he would raise the issue when lawmakers reconvene next week.
“Given our current fragile economic situation, I believe this move by the EFCC will worsen things,” he said. “Now is not time.”
Dangote Cement Plc, the most valuable firm in the Dangote Group, jumped 1.6% on Friday in Lagos regardless of the news about the raid. Trading volumes more than triple the 20-day average.
Still, the share price advance was less than the 2.1% gain by the main index. Nigeria dollar bonds maturing 2049 declined for fifth consecutive day to 86.474 cents on the dollar, the lowest since Dec. 13.
From 2015 until it was scrapped in June, the central bank under Emefiele’s leadership operated a complex foreign-exchange regime designed to shore up the naira by limiting the amount of dollars available from official sources.
While propping up the value of the Nigerian currency on the official market, it also gave rise to lucrative trading opportunities to those able to access dollars at the official rate and then sell them in the unofficial market, where the naira was much weaker.
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