TheCable

The Kogi house of assembly has summoned BUA Group, a cement manufacturing firm, over a 50,000-hectare land it acquired 10 years ago — but is allegedly yet to pay for.

The house issued the summon on Monday at a public hearing of one of its ad-hoc committees held in a hotel in Lokoja due to the recent fire incident at the assembly complex.

Alfa Momoh-Rabiu, deputy speaker of the house, read the summons following a presentation from Salihu Mustapha, acting surveyor-general of the state.

“We are having problems with the BUA Group over 50,000 hectares of land it acquired in 2012 and even obtained a certificate of occupancy (C of O) but has not paid a kobo for the land,” Mustapha had said in his presentation.

“We have written to the group several times but it has not responded to any of the letters.

“No compensation has been paid to the communities that own the expanse of land.’’

Umar Tenimu, the ad-hoc committee’s chairman, said it was an offence for BUA Group to hold the land for more than 10 years without paying for it.

He said the company should be summoned to “come and explain why it refused to pay for the land and why it refused to compensate the community involved”.

Mustapha added that if BUA Group refuses to pay for the land and compensate the community, the government shall revoke the certificate of occupancy.

According to NAN, Sunday Ogieva, a corporate communications official of BUA, said he could not comment on the issue when he was contacted.

Meanwhile, Kogi state is currently in a heated battle with Dangote Industries Limited (DIL) over the ownership of the Obajana Cement Plant.

You can read more about the dispute here, here, here, and here.