Aliko Dangote, the Chairman of the Dangote Group, has provided clarification regarding the recent visit of officials from the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to the company’s headquarters in Lagos. The EFCC’s visit was part of an investigation into forex allocations to the Dangote Group during Godwin Emefiele’s tenure as the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).
In a statement, the Dangote Management explained that the company received a letter from the EFCC in the first week of December 2023, requesting details of all foreign exchange allocations from the CBN between 2014 and the present. Similar letters were reportedly sent to 51 other groups of companies for the same information spanning the same period.
The company responded to the EFCC’s letter, acknowledging receipt and seeking clarification on the specific subsidiaries or companies within the group for which information was required. Additionally, the company requested additional time to compile and present the extensive documentation spanning ten years.
The statement revealed that the EFCC did not provide the requested clarification and did not honor the company’s request for an extension, insisting on receiving the complete set of documents within a limited timeframe. On January 4, 2024, the company delivered the first batch of documents to the EFCC. However, during the delivery, EFCC officers insisted on visiting the company’s offices to collect the same set of documents directly.
The statement emphasized that no accusations of wrongdoing have been made against the company by the EFCC. The Dangote Group is cooperating with the EFCC’s request for information to assist in their ongoing investigation.
