Dangote Industries Limited (DIL), the parent company of Dangote Cement and the Kogi state government are fighting over the ownership of Dangote Cement. Their tussle heightened earlier this month when thugs and local vigilantes from the state invaded and sealed the Dangote Cement plant in Obajana, a community in Kogi state.
Key takeaways:
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Dangote Industries Limited (DIL) and the Kogi state government are in a legal tussle.
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Kogi state wants to reclaim ownership of Dangote Cement, formerly Obajana Cement, named after a community in Kogi state.
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The state believes reclaiming the cement production plant’s ownership will deliver infrastructure and economic growth benefits. However, winning the court case against DIL is not a necessary or sufficient action to gain the benefits it seeks.
According to Dangote Cement’s statement filed with the Nigerian Exchange group, the Kogi state government sealed the Obajana-based cement plant, alleging unpaid taxes and an ownership interest in Dangote Cement Plc. The shutdown halted operations for two days. The plant is a third of Dangote Cement’s total production. Thankfully, the federal government intervened, and the plant resumed at full capacity a week after the incident.
That wasn’t the last of it.
In a surprising twist of events, Kogi state took Dangote Industries Limited (Dangote Cement’s parent company) to court due to the same reasons it shut down the Obajana cement plant.
But on what grounds?
