Dangote Industries and Kogi State government agree to re-open Obajana Cement plant

DANGOTE Cement and the Kogi State government have reached an agreement on the Obajana Cement plant that has resulted in the facility re-opening followed an order to that effect by the National Security Council which met on Friday.

Over the last fortnight, Governor Yahaya Bello has tried to use force to intimidate Dangote Industries following a dispute over the ownership of the Dangote Cement plant located at Obajana in Kogi State. An initial dispute about the ownership of the facility was exacerbated  by the alleged non-payment of taxes and revenues due to the state government by the company.

While the dispute was still in court, the Kogi State government sealed the factory and several members of staff were reported shot at during the melee. With the incident attracting international attention, the federal government has waded into the crisis and the National Security Council ordered that the cement plant be opened immediately.

Kogi State government is disputing the legality of Dangote Industries' acquisition of the defunct Obajana Cement Company. However, after the federal government waded into the matter, interior minister Rauf Aregbesola, said an agreement had been reached between the Dangote Group and the Kogi State government.

In a series of statements by its information commissioner Kingsley Fanwo, the Kogi State government had maintained that the acquisition of the cement plant by Dangote Industries did not follow due process. According to the state government, backed by its house of assembly, the process involving the acquisition of the plant translated to asset-grabbing.

On its part, Dangote Industries maintained that its acquisition of the Obajana Cement Company followed due process. it insisted that Kogi State had no equity interest in Obajana Cement and the plant and machinery were conceived, designed, procured, built and paid for solely by Dangote Industries, well after it acquired the shares in Obajana Cement Company.

In addition, the company said that the land on which the Obajana Cement plant is built was acquired solely by Dangote Industries in 2003 and that taxes are paid to the Kogi State government yearly since production commenced in 2007. Other bodies that have condemned the actions of the Kogi State government include the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria, the Nigeria Labour Congress, the Nigerian Economic Summit Group, the Trade Union Congress and the Shareholders Associations in Nigeria.