The Kogi state government has vowed to recover the Obajana Cement Company from Dangote, saying the acquisition of the company was “null, void and cannot stand.”
Governor Yahaya Bello stated this Friday while receiving a report on the acquisition of the cement company presented by the Secretary to the State Government (SSG), Dr. Folashade Ayoade Arike, at the Government House, Lokoja.
The governor said the state government had taken the bold step in line with his mandate to safeguard the lives and livelihoods of the people of Kogi, including residents and to ensure their wellbeing.
Bello said the decision to recover the company came on the heels of protests by indigenes who felt they had been suppressed and marginalised by the Dangote Group who had come to rip them off.
“I am here to defend my people, and from all reports, it is clear that Obajana Cement Company does not belong to Dangote,” he said.
Arike, who presented the report of the Specialised Technical Committee on the Evaluation of the Legality of the Acquisition of Obajana Cement Company Plc by Dangote Cement Company Limited, noted that the purported transfer of Obajana to Dangote Industries Limited was “invalid, null and void.”
She said based on the findings, the committee therefore recommended that Kogi state should take steps to recover the Obajana Cement Company from the Dangote Group.
