The Kogi House of Assembly summoned cement manufacturing firm BUA Group on Monday over a 50,000-hectare plot of land it acquired ten years ago but has yet to pay for.
The lawmakers issued the summons during a public hearing of one of its ad-hoc committees held at a hotel in Lokoja following the destruction of its complex by fire last Monday.
The deputy speaker of the House, Alfa Momoh-Rabiu, who read the summons after hearing from the state’s acting surveyor-general, Salihu Mustapha, expressed surprise at BUA Group’s attitude.
“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.
He added that if BUA Group refused to pay for the land and compensate the community, government shall revoke the C of O.
When contacted, Sunday Ogieva, a BUA Group Corporate Communications official, said he could not comment on the issue.
