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Nigeria: Anti-graft agency EFCC summons Dangote officials over alleged FX allocation abuse

Published

4 months ago

January 6, 2024

Some officials of the Dangote Group have been summoned by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) as part of an ongoing investigation into an alleged corrupt foreign exchange regime under the previous leadership of the Central Bank of Nigeria.

In furtherance of the investigation into the alleged abuse of the foreign exchange allocations, EFCC agents stormed the Dangote Industries Limited headquarters in Ikoyi, Lagos, on Thursday.

The decision to call in the officials to bring the documents to Abuja on Tuesday was made after it was learned on Friday that while the operatives had taken some documents from the group’s head office on Thursday, they had not covered all of the transactions.

After the commission’s agents broke into the headquarters of Aliko Dangote’s conglomerate, it was learned that the group’s chairman was in the United States of America and not in Nigeria. However, according to sources quoted by Nigerian newspaper, Punch, he is expected to return to Nigeria next week to attempt to personally resolve the issue.

Although it was implied that he knew about the anti-corruption agency’s demands, it was unclear whether he was told of their plans before their agents stormed his offices.

Senior company executives, however, were required to provide the commission “detailed and unambiguous documents on the demands by the commission,” according to a highly placed EFCC official.

“Yes, the Dangote officials requested and were given time to obtain all the required documentation. It is not intended to come across as witch-hunting anyone. The EFCC official spoke to one of our correspondents under the condition of anonymity because he was not authorised to speak to the media about the development.

“What the commission wants is evidence and details of how government funds were allocated, and that is all,” the official stated.

Analysts contend that the country’s multiple exchange rates, which it maintained until June 2023, contributed to market volatility, fluctuations, and distortions in the distribution of foreign exchange.

Two key policy initiatives that the government has pursued to stabilise the economy are the unification of the exchange rate and the elimination of the fiscal bleeding associated with petrol subsidies.

Related Topics:CBN EFCC Featured Nigeria

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Nigeria’s inflation hits 28-year high of 33.69% in April

Published

16 hours ago

May 16, 2024

Ifeoluwa Dada

Nigeria’s consumer inflation reached a 28-year high of 33.69% in April, up from 33.20% in March, according to statistics agency figures released on Wednesday.

President Bola Tinubu’s administration has slashed petrol and energy subsidies and devalued the local naira currency twice.

To manage pricing pressures, the central bank has hiked interest rates twice this year, including the highest hike in almost 17 years. The central bank governor has stated that rates will remain high for as long as necessary to reduce inflation. The bank will host another rate-setting meeting next week.

When compared to the previous year, the inflation rate in April 2024 was 11.47 percentage points more than in April 2023, when it stood at 22.22 percent. This implies that the headline inflation rate has increased dramatically during the last year.

According to the National Bureau of Statistics, food and nonalcoholic beverages remained the largest contributor to inflation in April. Food inflation, which accounts for most of the inflation basket, rose to 40.53% yearly from 40.01% in March.

Price pressures have left millions of Nigerians facing the biggest cost-of-living crisis in decades, as they fight to satisfy their most basic necessities.

Tinubu has offered a 35% salary increase for state personnel to alleviate pressure on government workers. To assist disadvantaged households, his government has resumed a direct cash transfer program and provided at least 42,000 tons of grains such as corn and millet.

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Uganda discusses power line to South Sudan with China’s Sinohydro

Published

2 days ago

May 15, 2024

Ifeoluwa Dada

According to the president’s office, Uganda is in negotiations with Sinohydro Corporation Limited of China to build a $180 million power transmission line that would enable Uganda to export electricity to South Sudan, which is severely short on energy.

Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni received a group led by Vice President of Sinohydro Corporation Yang Yi Xin on Monday as part of the negotiations, according to a late-morning statement from Museveni’s office.

The project, according to the statement, will entail building a new substation and expanding two existing ones in addition to building a 138-kilometre high-voltage transmission line to provide power to South Sudan.

“We are very much willing to help develop this project with the required finance if needed,” Xin was quoted as telling the president.

The statement stated that Museveni endorsed Sinohydro’s proposal to carry out the project. Uganda and South Sudan inked a power sales deal in June of last year, enabling Uganda to sell electricity to South Sudan.

To enable Uganda to export electricity to South Sudan, the two nations inked a power sales deal in June of last year. The Chinese firm is completing a $1.5 billion, 600-megawatt hydropower project on the River Nile in Northern Uganda that is meant to be the source for electricity exports to South Sudan.