BUA withdraws interest in Kogi land after threat from State Assembly

BUA Group has withdrawn its interest in the 50,000 hectares of land in Kogi State over the failure of the land to meet its intended purposes.

This is following the state Assembly threat to revoke the Certificate of Occupancy on the land allocated to the company for investment purposes in 2012 for non-payment of compensation.

A statement by the company’s managementsaid that since the state invited BUA to invest in 2012, there had been no visible effort by the state and successive governments to address the issues of access to the land that would enable BUA to utilise the land for its intended purpose.

It said the land was only accessible by water without any enabling infrastructure.

The statement also disclosed that there had been recurring security challenges around the area over the years after the initial indication of interest and granting of the Certificate of Occupancy, noting that the security of its investment as well as staff was paramount.

It noted that the feasibility study conducted on the land revealed that only about 30 per cent of the entire land mass was suitable for investment while the rest consisted of rocky, hilly, and undiluted areas which were not suitable for its intended purpose.

The company however stated that the Kogi Government may revoke the CofO of the land if it so wishes as if BUA had “decided to proceed with the proposed project, BUA would be very happy to pay all dues and necessary compensation to the state and other stakeholders in line with our obligation.

“This is because as a responsible organisation, we believe in the principles of equity, sustainable business practices, and fairness. That has been the hallmark of our operations and engagement with communities and governments everywhere we operate.”

Kogi House of Assembly on Monday, summoned the cement manufacturing firm, BUA, over a 50,000-hectare land it acquired 10 years ago but had yet to pay for it.

The lawmakers gave the summon at a public hearing of one of its ad-hoc committees in Lokoja.