Qatar’s largest dairy company, Baladna has said that its recent visit to Ogun State was exploratory.
This is coming after the Ogun State Government took to X to announce that the company is “set to establish a multi-million dollar food and dairy facility in the state.”
To notify the public of the visit, Governor Dapo Abiodun flaunted pictures of the meeting online, disclosing that Baladna plans to establish its business in Ogun.
According to the state, the Qatari project would aid the creation of jobs and production of food, while decreasing the billions of naira Nigeria parts with annually on importing dairy products.
However, speaking to The Guardian Nigeria, the company revealed that they only paid the state a visit for fact-finding, and no agreement has been reached.
“We would like to clarify that, at this stage, we are only exploring potential avenues for cooperation and there are no agreements or announced projects regarding a dairy investment in Ogun State, Nigeria,” Baladna said.
The organization stated that as a company listed on the Qatar Stock Exchange, if a deal had been agreed, it would have been announced on its website first.
The company maintained that once there is news regarding any of its activities, it would be shared by its official regulatory channels to keep the public informed.
“Please note that Baladna is a publicly listed company on the Qatar Stock Exchange and, as such, is subject to strict disclosure requirements regulated by the Qatar Financial Markets Authority and other relevant bodies. Accordingly, any public announcements or press statements regarding our operations or investments must be disclosed through official regulatory channels before being communicated to the public.
In light of the above, no press release or public statement regarding any potential investment by Baladna may be issued by any party without following the proper legal procedures and formal disclosure by us to the competent regulatory authorities in Qatar. Furthermore, the use of Baladna’s name thereof without prior written consent is strictly unauthorised,” Baladna added.
Reacting, Governor Dapo Abiodun’s media aide, Kayode Akinmade, also clarified that no deal has been agreed.
Speaking during an interview, Kayode stressed that no investment agreement has been finalized between both parties, and discussions are still preliminary.
He concluded by saying that Ogun State simply highlighted its strengths as a potential partner, including the availability of land, proximity to Lagos State, and its favourable investment climate.
“There is no signed agreement between Ogun State and Baladna.
Nothing has been finalised. They came to explore opportunities; they came here to prospect about what they can bring to the table. So Ogun state also told them, okay, well, we have land, we have this. We are close to Lagos. We have this. It was covered on both TV and newspapers, unless the people who came are not the true representatives of Baladna,” he added.
By Guardian Nigeria.
