Kogi State House of Assembly on Monday summoned cement manufacturer BUA Group over the alleged non-payment of a 50,000-hectare land it acquired a decade ago.
An ad hoc committee of the assembly issued the summons following a public hearing at a hotel in Lokoja.
The committee met at a hotel because its complex was gutted by fire a week ago.
Deputy Speaker of the House, Alfa Momoh-Rabiu, who read the summons after listening to the acting surveyor-general of the state, Salihu Mustapha, expressed shock at the alleged attitude of BUA Group.
“We are having problem 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.
“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,’’ the acting surveyor-general said at the public hearing.
Umar Tenimu, the ad-hoc committee’s chairman, said that it was an offence for BUA Group to hold the land for more than 10 years without paying for it.
The group should be summoned to come and explain why it refused to pay for the land and why it refused to compensate the community involved, he said.
Tenimu added that if BUA Group refused to pay for the land and compensate the community, the government shall revoke the C of O.
When contacted by NAN, Sunday Ogieva, a spokesman for the company, said he could not comment on the issue.
