The inclusion of Nigeria and Africa’s richest man, Aliko Dangote, the Chief Executive Officer of the Dangote Group into the All Progressive Congress Presidential Campaign Council Advisory Committee has generated huge interest from a lot of political analysts and the Nigerian populace.
Probably not anticipating the level of public interest, mostly negative, arising from the announcement, the Presidency which initially announced the constitution of the council was forced to reverse itself in a statement where it argued that Dangote was an unaffiliated businessman and could not possibly be a part of the partisan committee.
“Africa’s richest man, not being a card-carrying member of APC, cannot, and is not member of the PCC. He is also a member of the Peace Committee, and thus cannot be in a partisan campaign council,” Femi Adesina, the presidential spokesperson noted in the new release. Interestingly, the Presidency offered no such direct clarification about billionaire businessman Femi Otedola, the Forte Oil CEO who is also one of the members of the 7-man advisory council.
The Big Deal
Dangote has always been a subject of public scrutiny as a result of his close knit connections with the Nigerian government with many people believing that he has been a beneficiary of his political connections including monopolies, tax breaks and concessions.
“As a result of Dangote’s political involvement, several apolitical businessmen have been grounded by ugly economic policies. We were told that he was one of the beneficiaries of the deadly foreign exchange scheme of the Buhari administration. The long standing negative policies on ports, sugar, salt and other essential commodities. These policies stifle other businesses and aid Dangote who is a business partner with several serving and past political leaders”, Chibiko Amara wrote in an opinion piece.
But defenders of Dangote disagree and rather turn on the Buhari administration, accusing them of trying to use Dangote’s brand as an endorsement of its economic performance which has come under tough scrutiny since the economy slipped into a recession followed by unflattering unemployment numbers which has skyrocketed under the current watch of the current administration.
“This singular act of All Progressive Congress, APC, is a pointer to how it operates, without any regard for processes and procedures, courtesies and rapprochements, all in an attempt to create a false and even a non-existing image of acceptability for itself having seen that Nigerians including Africa’s richest man have rejected them,” Jude Ndukwe, a political analyst said, referencing a news report that Dangote lost about $5.4billion in net worth under the present administration.
Peace Committee Controversy?
Dangote is a member of the peace committee which is expected to be a neutral committee that is responsible for promoting a smooth electoral process and transition of power through agreements and consultations with a broad group of stakeholders. The businessman is a member of this eminent group led by former Nigerian head of state, Abdusalami Abubakar, who has since overseen the signing of peace accords between presidential candidates since the 2015 election.
“As a partisan adviser, it is only fair that Aliko Dangote recuses himself from the committee so as not to tar its perception of neutrality. Dangote cannot be a referee and a player at the same time. One has to go,” said Conrad Johnson-Omodiagbe in an article for political analysis blog, TheScoopNG.
However the biggest deal amid this controversy remains Dangote’s stoic silence.
Story first appeared on our microsite for the Nigerian Elections 2019.
