*Group condemns Kogi govt over invasion of Dangote cement factory with thugs*

The Nigeria Good Governance Action Group (NGGAG) has condemned the "unwarranted" invasion of the Dangote Cement factory in Kogi State.

In a statement signed by its national coordinator, Comrade Arome Ainoko, the group, however, advised the government to "concentrate on making lives of the people better and not create more hardship by disrupting the activities of the company".

"The Nigeria Good Governance Action Group views with utter consternation the recent invasion of the Dangote Cement Company in Obajana, Kogi State. It has been uncovered that by that unprovoked mayhem visited on the company by the Kogi State Government and House of Assembly at prompting of Governor Yahaya Bello, there are some sinister motives up their sleeves," Ainoko said.

"This act is an armature, macabre, abysmally incomprehensible and unthinkable in a 21st-century democratic order. This crude and archaic act can scare potential investors from coming to the State.

"More worrisome is the report that about Twenty-Six (26) persons were shot during the invasion of the company's premises at Obajana, by Vigilantes hired by the state government.

"This act is heart-wrenching and irresponsible and must be condemned by all well-meaning Nigerians and Kogites in particular. During the crude invasion in a Gestapo style, the smooth operations of the company were interrupted. It is unthinkable that at this moment of extreme economic hardship, the State Assembly would allow itself to be used by Governor Bello to aggravate the hardship Kogites are currently facing, due to the failure of his government.

"With these reckless actions of the State government, thousands of workers and their families have been thrown into disarray. Thousands of others, who provide value-chain services, are also rendered jobless.

"The probe over the acquisition of the Cement Company by Dangote is not just laughable but a deliberate ploy by the Kogi State government to throw the state into chaos especially the youthful population of the state that has been gainfully employed by the company".

The group, therefore, called on the state government to "immediately reopen the sealed factory and desist from further harassing the staff of the company".