The Kogi State government has commenced investigation into the fire incident which razed the state House of Assembly on Monday.
In a statement, the commissioner for Information, Kingsley Fanwo, said the state government wished to inform the people of Kogi and other Nigerians that the House of Assembly had been razed down by fire.
He said the sad incident occurred in the early hours of Monday.
According to him, security and technical experts have started working hard to unravel the cause(s) of the inferno which caused significant damage to the complex.
Fanwo said the state government would inform the general public of findings as they unfold.
The commissioner said the state government would make temporary arrangements to ensure that legislative business was not halted as a result of the unfortunate incident.
Meanwhile, the Dangote Group has said it was not involved in the fire outbreak at the Assembly complex.
The group and the state government have been on the warpath over the acquisition of the land occupied by Dangote Cement Factory in Obajana.
The House of Assembly’s resolutions and directives led to the executive arm of government’s decision to take over the plant.
In a statement signed by the group’s chief branding and communications officer, Dangote Industries Limited, Anthony Chiejina,
he 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 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 the 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.
Dangote Group said: “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.”
