DANGOTE Cement Company Plc and the Kogi State government on Friday continued their fight over the ownership of the company.
The company, in a statement signed by its Group Managing Director, Michael Puchercos, accused the Kogi State government of illegally shutting down its Obajana plant and that the plant is wholly owned by the Dangote Cement Plc.
The state government, however, countered that the company was distorting facts.
The statement by the company reads: “The Management of Dangote Cement Plc wishes to inform members of the public, especially its customers and other stakeholders, of the recent invasion of its Obajana Cement Plant, Kogi State, by armed vigilantes on the orders of the state government.
“The vigilantes, led by some officials of the state government, were apparently acting on a resolution of the Kogi State House of Assembly on controversial tax claims; claims that the state governor had also contradicted when he said the shutdown was due to an alleged invalid acquisition of the company by Dangote Industries Limited.
“In the process of forcefully evicting the workers to enforce the shutdown, the vigilantes shots at 27 of our workers and also destroyed some of the company’s property at the plant.
“We have taken steps to get the hoodlums apprehended by the law enforcement agencies, and we will ensure that full legal action is taken against them.
“We therefore appeal to all our staff and our esteemed customers to remain calm while we explore all possible legal steps to address the situation. The welfare of our staff remains our key focus as we work hard to minimize further impact on our people and operations.
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“While we reiterate that Obajana Cement plant is 100 per cent owned by Dangote Cement Plc, we remain resolute in transforming Africa while creating sustainable value for our people, communities, investors and customers.”
The Kogi State government, in its reaction, debunked claims by the Dangote Group that Obajana Cement Factory is owned 100 per cent by the conglomerate, insisting that there was no valid acquisition.
The government also vowed to recover all accrued dividends from profits made over the years by the Dangote Group, including accrued interests on same.
As a first step, the Specialised Technical Committee on the Evaluation of the Legality of the Alleged Acquisition of Obajana Cement Company Plc by Dangote Cement Company Limited has expressly asked the Kogi State government to cancel the existing seven Certificates of Occupancy.
This was part of the recommendations contained in the report of the 10-man committee headed by the Secretary to the State Government, Dr Folashade Ayoade, and submitted to the state governor, Yahaya Bello.
Reacting to the official statement by the Dangote Group on Friday, the Commissioner for Information, Kingsley Fanwo, said it was important to make it clear to the general public that the state had all the relevant documents to prove that the purported acquisition of Obajana by Dangote was null and void.
He noted that Kogi State indigenes would not be intimidated into forgoing their birthrights to any individual or institution, no matter how highly placed, adding that Governor Yahaya Bello was committed to his inaugural promise that his administration “shall exist for the sole purpose of serving the superseding interests of the people of Kogi State.”
Fanwo said: “We want to assure the good people of Kogi State that, with God on our side, what belongs to the state shall be recovered, including all dividends and interests on profits from inception till date. The Dangote Group is just distorting facts to save its face.”
The detailed committee report, which was made public on Thursday by the SSG, also charged the government to take steps to recover Obajana Cement Company Plc now changed to Dangote Cement Company Plc. Ayoade had revealed with documents that the purported transfer of Obajana to Dangote Industries Limited was “invalid, null and void.”
She disclosed in the report that three Certificates of Occupancy for Obajana Cement Company Plc, which were solely owned by the Kogi State government at the time were used to obtain a loan of N63 billion 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.
Stressing the aberration in the arrangement, the SSG said: “Agreement between Kogi State government of Nigeria and Dangote Industries Limited, dated 30th July 2002 and supplemental agreement dated 14th February 2003, as contained in Exhibit 71 of the Judicial Commission of Inquiry Report, purporting the transfer of Obajana Cement Company Plc to Dangote Industries Limited, are all invalid, null and void.”
