Members of the House of Representatives yesterday overwhelmingly threw out a motion seeking to institute an investigation into the closure of Dangote cement factory located in Benue State.

Sponsored by Rep. Hassan Saleh, the motion sought the leave of the House to mandate the committee on commerce to among other things, "investigate the circumstance surrounding the non-implementation of the Cement Backward Integration Policy on local production of cement and report back within four weeks."

In his motion, Rep. Saleh informed the House that the management of Dangote Cement Plc has concluded arrangements to temporarily close down its four million metric tons per annum cement factory in Gboko, Benue State.

According to him, the closure of the factory "is capable of leading to loss of jobs in the country particularly in Benue state and if urgent steps are not taken to address the problems that this company is facing, spread to other companies is imminent while inadvertently creating jobs for citizens in other countries from where these commodities are being imported."

However, when the question was put by Deputy Speaker Emeka Ihedioha, who presided over the sitting, as to whether the House should investigate the matter or not, majority of members voted in opposition throwing out the motion.