The Imo State Government has said it will revoke all unused lands mainly those at Industrial layout located along Owerri- Onitsha Road which had been kept for years without development but sold at exorbitant prices.
This was disclosed by Governor Rochas Okorocha who said s the Rescue Mission administration in the State which he heads would revoke all unused lands especially those at the Industrial layouts in the State regretting that people acquired those lands and kept them for years without developing them but waiting to sell them at a very exorbitant prices.
According to a statement by his Chief Press Secretary, governor gave the hint when members of the Owerri Chamber of Commerce, Industry, Mines and Agriculture visited him at the Government House Owerri on Thursday, February 1, 2018, adding that he has also given the directive that all the link roads to Onitsha Road Industrial Layout and Industrial Park be done immediately including the one linking World Bank Estate and Onitsha road.
The governor equally explained that his administration has another programme at the moment for the reactivation of all the moribund manufacturing companies in the state whether public or private owned, adding that the administration is taking stock of all the companies involved with a new to getting them back to production to create jobs in their various localities.
His words “My dream and vision now is to address the issue of manufacturers in Imo State, as the State is now ready for manufacturing and industrialization. Owerri is now the fastest growing City in Nigeria comparable to Lagos and Abuja. Real Estate is growing geometrically but my concern is that the manufacturing sector is not moving in the same speed”.
He further stated “We have now come out with a clear policy that we must encourage genuine manufacturers, those who create jobs and not suppliers or dealers on products. We are talking about those that take raw-materials and put them into finished goods creating chains of opportunities for distribution, manufacturing and consumption”.
The governor remarked “I have equally ordered that all unutilized sites of manufacturing at the Onitsha road industrial area be revoked, the fences and gate houses cleared for serious manufacturing companies to come and take over. Most owners of lands there are not manufacturers, they simply used the opportunity to grab lands and keep them there for sale. We have decided to revoke all unused lands there”.
President of the Chamber, Dr. Igwe Nnadumije in his speech thanked the governor for remembering the manufacturing sector in the State and promised the collaboration of the members for the industrialization of the State and appealed to the governor to construct the ring roads in the Onitsha road industrial area, stating that most manufacturers who own industries around there find it difficult to access their factories