Early morning fire today 10th October 2022 gutted the Kogi State House of Assembly and the state government thinking it may be connected with the ownership struggle going on between the state and Dangote Cement Company. The cause of the fire is yet unknown and there is no evidence yet linking anyone to being behind it.
However, it will be recalled that there has been a controversy over the ownership of the Obajana Cement Company.
The arsonists were suspected to have been sent to burn the Complex in an attempt to possibly destroy evidence relating to the ownership of the Obajana Cement Company.
The Speaker of the State House of Assembly, who had released a statement on Sunday, asking Dangote to come clean on the issue, expressed sadness over the recent turn of events.
He called on security agencies to investigate the matter, pointing out that there was enough credible intelligence to show that the target of the arsonists was to destroy evidence relating to ongoing investigations on the Kogi-Dangote face-off over the ownership of Obajana Cement Company.
In a related development, security agents attached to the State Commissioner for Information and Communications, Kingsley Fanwo, foiled an attempt to attack his home, an incident that had never happened before, according to him.
The hoodlums, however, escaped with gunshot wounds. When contacted, Fanwo, like the Speaker, believed the attempt on his home was because of the ongoing ownership struggle.
He said: “The State House of Assembly was set on fire this morning. Remember we exposed plans to attack the Speaker of the Kogi State House of Assembly with fake soldiers yesterday. Having discovered that we exposed their satanic plans against the Speaker, they changed tactics to go and burn down the Kogi State House of Assembly. This is an attack on our institution and our people. Burning down our Assembly Complex will only further fuel our resolve to right the wrongs of the past. We will take back what legally belongs to us.”
Recall that the State House of Assembly has been at the forefront of efforts at reclaiming the state’s share of the company, which Dangote Group is claiming to own 100 per cent.
The disagreement reached a crescendo when the State House of Assembly ordered the sealing of the company, pending the presentation of the requested documents by the Dangote Group, with youths in the community trooping out to celebrate.
On Saturday, the Kogi State Government exposed certain fightback plans by the Dangote Group, including destabilising the state and going after key government offices and officials. The statement was also signed by Fanwo.
