THE Presidency, today, intervened in the ownership tussle of the Dangote cement factory in Obajana, Kogi State.
The meeting at the Office of Chief of Staff to the President in Presidential Villa in Abuja was attended by the President of the Dangote Group, Aliko Dangote, Governors Yahaya Bello (Kogi) and Abdullahi Sule (Nasarawa).
The intervention came after the decision of Kogi State government to shut down the Obajana factory last week over allegations of tax evasion and unresolved ownership.
Already, the management of Dangote Group is said to have concluded plans to approach the court this week over the legality of the Kogi state’s vigilante members who reportedly stormed the Obajana cement factory, where many of the company’s staff were allegedly wounded and the facility shut.
The Kogi State Government, last Thursday, presented to the public, the report of the Specialised Technical Committee on the Evaluation of the Legality of the Alleged Acquisition of Obajana Cement Company Plc by Dangote Cement Company Limited.
The detailed report, submitted to Governor Yahaya Bello, was presented to the public by the Secretary to the State Government, Dr. (Mrs) Folashade Ayoade.
Citing documents, she revealed that the purported transfer of Obajana to Dangote Industries Limited was “invalid, null and void”.
Ayoade disclosed in the report that three Certificates of Occupancy for Obajana Cement Company Plc, which the Kogi State government solely owned at the time, were used to obtain a loan of N63billion by Dangote.
According to her, the committee, in view of its findings, has therefore recommended that Kogi State should take steps to recover the Obajana Cement Company from the Dangote Group.
