Borders opened for Dangote alone, says Stanbic IBTC founder

Founder of Stanbic IBTC Bank Plc, Atedo Peterside, says the  Federal Government has granted Dangote Cement alone access to border operations.

Nigerian land borders have been shut for over a year following moves to curtail smuggling from neighbouring countries.

A report on Monday by Bloomberg, however, said the authorities had exempted Dangote Cement from the border restrictions.

In a tweet on Monday, Mr Peterside, a former chairman of Cadbury Nigeria Plc, said the move shows the Nigerian economy has been rigged to favour a select few.

“Allowing legitimate exporters & importers to move their goods across the border should be a no-brainer. Why refuse everybody else & allow only one company (Dangote)?

“This is why some of us argue that the Nigerian economy is rigged in favour of a handful of well-connected persons,” he wrote.

The Buhari administration gave its authorisation for Africa’s biggest producer to export cement to Niger and Togo in the third quarter for the first time in 10 months, chief executive officer Michel Puchercos said on an investor call in Lagos.

The export was made possible “through authorisation given by this administration,” he said.

The exemption to Dangote Cement is seen as a softening of the government’s position on a border closure that started in August last year and could open the way for other businesses to fully resume exports across the country’s land barriers.