the better.”
Recalled that the Organised Private Sector (OPS) operators under the aegis of the National Association of Chambers of Commerce, Industries, Mines and Agriculture (NACCIMA) have lent its voice to the ongoing spat between Dangote Cement and Kogi state government which culminated into the closure of the Obajana plant of the Cement company.
NACCIMA expressed regret that the issues between the company and the state over tax disputes ought not to have led to sealing of the company but should have been resolved in a conciliatory and amicable atmosphere.
The body, in a statement signed by its Director-General, Olusola Obadimu, and issued in Lagos, said the state government should have trodden a path of caution and called for the immediate reopening of the factory for normal production activities to resume.
Obadimu stated that NACCIMA’s position was based on some key considerations bordering on the impact of the factory’s closure on the economy and thousands of people whose means of livelihood depend on the production activities of the factory.
“It is vital to note that it is a huge production plant that supplies key domestic input (cement) into the economy and employs hundreds of thousands of Nigerians, directly and indirectly. This is aside from its substantial budget for corporate social responsibility outside of taxes.
“Shutting off the factory does not necessarily help the controversial issue of compliance on tax remittable to Kogi state government. Rather a continuous operation of the plant would more likely facilitate a faster resolution of the dispute,” he said.
The NACCIMA boss then urged that the factory be reopened as quickly as possible to enable it to continue its operation and fulfil its necessary responsibilities, not just on tax obligations, but also keep the hundreds of thousands of Nigerians in its direct and indirect employment dutifully engaged; while sustaining its crucial services not just to the people and government of Kogi State but Nigeria in general.