Read the report below...
While
lots of gossip often fly through social media without any basis in fact, we
were shocked to discover, after looking at the different documents available to
us in this alleged illicit transactions foreign exchange allocations, that the
allegations appear to be true in fact. We at CVI will like to go on record that
this kind of shenanigan in our banking system is NOT the Change we fought for,
and it is about time somebody calls out the Banks, CBN, the Dangote Group and
the EFCC in what is clearly a collusion to circumvent the laws of the country.
Furthermore, it boggles the mind to discover that the proof of the
allegations is not even shrouded in any secrecy, since many of the banks
complicit in this illegal transaction are actually bold enough to list the
proof of their curious transaction in their monthly declaration of official
forex allocations from CBN in various Newspapers publications. In this respect,
we refer to the declarations of forex allocations declaration in THISDAY, and
other newspapers by First bank (February 16th, 2016, page
11), Access Bank (Thursday, March 31, 2016 page 4)and several other banks
where they clearly stated that they allocated different millions of dollars to
DANGOTE GROUP for investment in DANGOTE CEMENT CONGO at the official
rate! These official rate allocations for investment in Congo Cement is a
CLEAR VIOLATION of CBN guidelines, (unless the CBN secretly changed the rules
overnight for Dangote) and we are clearly shocked that the EFCC has not thought
it fit to investigate any of these publications.
We also have in our possession several correspondences by Dangote Group
to Access Bank and First Bank requesting them to transfer millions of dollars
at the official rate to their subsidiary in Congo, Liberia and elsewhere
outside Nigeria. This again will appear to be illegal under the CBN Guidelines.
Documents are attached to this publication.
For those who may not be aware, the long standing CBN rule is that
official forex allocations from CBN to banks should NOT be used for investments
abroad or for clearing goods in a foreign country’s ports as these banks appear
to have done. Those kind of transactions are supposed to be financed by funds
from parallel markets. As a matter of fact, the approval letter by CBN that we
could lay our hands on clearly stated that those approvals are subject to the
funds being sourced from the parallel market, and NOT the official rate makes.
Yet, many of these banks listed DANGOT CEMENT CONGO as a direct beneficiary of
official forex in their monthly publications of breakdowns. This was ostensibly
for direct investment and even payment of port charges in countries such as
Congo and Liberia.
These admissions of patent irregularity by the banks as evidenced by
their own public notifications in several newspapers, is enough proof that they
violated the law in allocating funds for Dangote Cement Congo and our question
today is why is the EFCC not looking into this clear violations of the law?
Specifically, we at Change Vigilantes believe that the ongoing debate
over Dangote Group’s improper access to Forex at official rates raises the
following questions
1. - Why is Dangote Group, with its heavily laundered
image of being a pro-Nigerian employer, spending billions of naira in official
foreign exchange rate to invest in factories and companies in Congo, Liberia
and other African countries when millions of Nigerians at home are unemployed?
How is our economy supposed to benefit from investment that creates employment
for Congo and Liberia?
2. - If Dangote is really as patriotic as his
image makers have made us believe, why is he helping to develop the economies
of other countries and creating employment for other countries when over 20
million Nigerian youths are unemployed at home? Really, one must wander what is
so special about working in a cement factory that people in Liberia and Congo
can provide that workers in Nigeria cannot.
3. - Why should our government be giving Dangote
Cement essentially subsidized foreign exchange for investment in Congo when we
don’t have enough forex to pay for importation of fuel to power our own
economy, with long lines of cars at filling station and long lines of the
unemployed?
4. - With people dying for lack of access to
dollars at the official rate to treat themselves abroad, and with students
dropping out of school abroad because their parents can no longer afford to get
the dollars they need to remit for their school fees, why are the richest among
us as personified by Aliko Dangote, getting access to these scarce funds at the
official rate just to go and invest it in foreign countries, so they can make
more money while their fellow citizens die of sickness and unemployment at home?
5. - With the evidence gathered from the
newspaper publications clearly showing that some banks, i.e. First Bank and
Access Bank, appear to have violated foreign exchange laws of Nigeria by
allocating official rate forex to Dangote Group for investment in foreign
companies, contrary to CBN guidelines and extant laws, why is the EFCC not
wading into this matter?
Really, considering the fact that the richest man in Africa has been a
beneficiary of largesse and uncompetitive patronage from practically all
governments in Nigeria for the last 16 years, one cannot but wander if EFCC is
actually protecting this mogul that seems to have developed a talent for
ingratiating itself to any government in power. Is the government of Change now
giving one of the biggest pillars behind the past corrupt government a pass
when it comes to scrutinizing his activities?
6. - Why are the banks granting forex at
official rates to Dangote group for investment in Dangote Cement Congo and in
Liberia, and actually publishing those figures in Newspapers, if they did not
have the approval of CBN (the documents we have been able to obtain so far show
that all CBN special approvals for international remittances to Dangote Group
clearly directed that such remittances be funded from parallel funds.? Yet, the
publications of First Bank and Access Bank in This Day Newspapers clearly
showed that DANOTE CEMENT CONGO were beneficiaries of money at the official
rate, and NOT the parallel market as directed by the approvals. This anomaly
begs the follow-up questions: Why is CBN not sanctioning these banks? and why
is the EFC not investigating this obvious corruption in the system?
7. - Is Dangote above the law or rules of CBN?
We have read in many publications where some so-called financial analysts have
argued that the Dangote Group is too big to be allowed to fail, and that as one
the biggest employers of labour in Nigeria they deserve preferential treatment.
We disagree vehemently with this school of thought. On the contrary, we believe
that the richest in society have a responsibility to the less fortunate. The
richest among us should not be getting preferential treatment to buy dollars to
invest in the economies of other countries, while our own citizens are dropping
out of school for lack of access to forex, and our sick are dying because they
have no access to obtain official forex to treat themselves. The law in any
sane society should apply equally to both the rich and the poor and nobody
should be above the law.
We believe that most Nigerians, including the undersigned,
voted for President Muhammadu Buhari because of his earned reputation for
fighting corruption in all its forms. We believed the President when he
promised that nobody, and no entity will be spared of any allegations of
corruption.
It is time that the President delivers on that promise in
the area of foreign exchange allocations and manipulations by our institutions
including the Banks and Central Bank.
In a season where we have people dying of lack of access to Forex and
long queues at our filling stations due to scarce foreign exchange, it is also
time that the President lives up to is reputation for fighting corruption at
the highest levels by ordering a public probe into the way forex is being
handled in Nigeria
Having fallen in love with our President for his career long stance
against corruption, we at Change Vigilantes International, USA cannot
understand why Dangote seems to be an exception to this anti-corruption rule of
the Government of Change that we all fought for.
It has been several weeks now since these allegations of corruption in
the allocation of Forex by the banks have been levelled by many knowledgeable
insiders and other international companies like the BUA group, both in
newspapers and many social media sites, but so far we have not heard any
official explanations from the Banks, the CBN or EFCC. We believe that
individual and corporate impunity was supposed to have died with the previous
administration, and it is our job as ardent supporters of the Buhari government
and the CHANGE it represents to raise the alarm when it becomes obvious that
some people appear to be above the law, as it appears in this case of Forex
Allocation.
We at Change Vigilantes hereby call on President Buhari to order an
investigation into the allegations of corruption in the allocation of official
forex by the Banks and the CBN.
In a situation where the difference between the Official Exchange rate
and the Parallel Market rate, is more than N100 per dollar, the possibilities
of abuse and round-tripping are too obvious to ignore. Also, the temptations
for the super-rich and those with access to collude with the banks, and
possibly CBN to take advantage of that disparity in exchange rates to further
enrich themselves at the expense of the country, is just too much to dismiss
these allegations of corruption by many in the country out of hand. We demand
an investigation by EFFC now!
The Mission Of Change Vigilantes Organization includes the
following: 1. To Assist The Federal And State Governments Of Nigeria
Implement The Program Of Positive Change They Promised Nigerians through Public
Education, Advocacy, Volunteerism, and Encouragement Of Public Participation in
Good Governance; 2. To Protect The Vote Mandate Beyond The Election Cycle
By Ensuring That Politicians Do Not Act Contrary To Their Mandates, Published
Manifesto And Good Governance Throughout Their Tenures n Government.; 3.
To Hold ALL Politicians Accountable For All Election Promises Throughout Their
Tenure By Reminding Them Of Their Promises And Helping Them Remain Faithful To
Them; 4. To Provide Support And Advocacy For Implementing The Different
Progressive Programs Of The Govt In Line With Their Electoral Promises While
Opposing Any Actions That Are Contrary To The Promises Made By Politicians At
Election Time
Dr Ope
Banwo
Oluyinka Oyeniji
Chairman/Founder
National Legal Adviser
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