Thursday, March 28, 2024

We know nothing about Kogi Assembly fire, says Dangote Group

BY MOYINOLUWA BAMIDELE-LUCAS

THE Dangote Group, on Monday, denied involvement in the fire incident at the Kogi State House of Assembly, condemning insinuations that it masterminded the attack as unprofessional and irresponsible.

In a statement signed by its Group Chief Branding and Corporate Communications Officer, Anthony Chiejina, the company urged stakeholders to remain calm and ignore such statement.

However, the official statement, duly signed by the Kogi State Commissioner for Information rather said that investigations were ongoing to unravel the cause of the fire.

The fire incident occurred a day after the Speaker of the House of Assembly said he had uncovered plans to attack key officials of the Assembly.

Chiejina said, “Our attention has been drawn to a circulating Press Statement issued by the Kogi State Government, wherein the Dangote Group was accused of allegedly sponsoring arsonists to set the Kogi State House of Assembly on fire in the early hours of Monday, October 10, 2022.

“The statement titled, ‘Obajana: Desperation sets in as imported hoodlums burn down Kogi Assembly’, which was signed by the Kogi State Commissioner for Information and Communications, Kingsley Fanwo pointedly accused our company of burning the Complex ‘in an attempt to possibly destroy evidence relating to the ownership tussle between the Kogi State Government and the Dangote Group over the Obajana Cement Company.’

“As a socially responsible corporate entity, we totally refute this allegation and condemn this unprofessional and irresponsible attempt to smear our image before local and international investors and thus erode our brand value.
Dangote Group would never stoop so low as to sponsor thugs to destroy any property, belonging to either government or any individual. This runs contrary to our business ethos and everything we stand for as a leading manufacturer with teeming customers and consumers across Nigeria and Africa.

“Our lawyers have been mandated to react appropriately to the damaging allegation from the Kogi State Government within the full extent of the law.

“We urge our stakeholders and the public to disregard such irresponsible and insane statements as we ask all our stakeholders, namely shareholders, customers, suppliers, employees, and the entire community of Obajana and Kogi State at large to remain calm while we follow the legitimate and lawful process to resolve this matter with the State Government.”

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