The Federal Government has been urged to sustain instead of closing down businesses owned by suspects in the ongoing anti-graft war.
In a statement made available to newsmen in Abuja on Thursday, the Society for Economic Revival through its National Secretary, Mallam Daud Ahmad said businesses linked to the suspects should be allowed to operate even while the prosecution is ongoing.
Justifying the call in the statement, the group posited that closing down those businesses has contributed to the increasing economic challenges facing the nation, affirming jobs are been lost and that the level of national gross domestic products is reducing.
While commending the anti-graft war of the Federal Government, the Society noted that “any suspect who invested money in a business located in Nigeria should be treated differently from those who stashed the money in secret accounts abroad.
“We are of the sincere and nationalistic opinion that such businesses and their owners should be better treated as a way of reviving the economy. Any looted fund should be recovered but businesses should not be closed down.
“When you close down a business, you are not punishing the suspects but rather countless number of families who depend on workers in those businesses. You are also reducing economic production and tax earnings. We believe this is not the way to go”, the society noted.
The group specifically called for the categorization of suspects, arguing that “those who took loans to invest in businesses should not be treated like those who steal directly from public coffer and stash such abroad.
“Most big businessmen rely on loans. The likes of Dangote, Otedola, Ayeni, Emeka Offor, Ibrahim and host of others take huge loans for their businesses. However businesses do fail. In that scenario, our reaction should not be to close down those businesses.
“Let us inject money and revive the businesses. Let the businesses continue to operate, employing people and creating wealth. At the same time, let the process of recovering the loans continues “,the statement noted.
The group called on the administration to note that “all countries have her own oligarchs, advising that destroying them economically is most of the time equal to destroying the economic fortunes of the country.
“Our best option is not to kill their businesses because doing so mean killing the economy. We must recover all looted fund even as we sustain the businesses to keep the economy alive”, the statement concluded.
