By Francis Ekeh, Abuja

The federal government has directed the immediate reopening of the Dangote cement factory located in Obajana Kogi state

The factory was shut down on the orders of the Kogi state governor Yahaya Bello acting on the resolution of the State House of Assembly

The federal government position was conveyed by the Minister of Interior Rauf Aregbesola on Friday, after a Security Council meeting at the presidential villa , Abuja.

Government directed the warring parties to resolve all contending issues in accordance with the law.

The Minister said the federal government was committed to guaranteeing and providing employment to Nigerians.

Aregbesola noted that an agreement has been reached between the Kogi State government and the Dangote Cement Company so that peace would be maintained.

In what seemed like a counter order President Buhari directed that the factory be reopened with out futher delay.

The meeting of the National Security Council in Abuja was presided over by President Muhammadu Buhari. The meeting directed Kogi State government to resolve the issue through the Courts.

The ownership status of the Dangote Cement that was originally known as Obajana Cement at its establishment in 1992, was called to question as Dangote Industries claimed ownership.

However, despite the good reason in Bello’s quest to determine the true position of the ownership of the factory, crude methods were adopted to effect the orders of the Kogi State Government as there were claims by the Dagote group over the shooting of seven of its staff by agents of the government.

In a statement by the Company’s management, it claimed that Kogi State government was never committed to its part of the obligation, hence, Dangote now wholly owned the plant based on investment he made.

The recent closure of the factory led to loss of hundreds of jobs and revenue to both the state and federal government, a situation that could pose threat to national security if not checked according to experts.