Innoson showroom marked for partial demolition since 2024, says ANSG

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By Madu Obi

The Anambra State government has explained that the Innoson showroom on the Nnewi - Ozubulu road undergoing expansion by the state government, was marked for partial demolition along with other buildings in the area since October, 2024.

The state Commissioner for Information, Dr Law Mefor, in a statement, said that since the inception of the Soludo administration, there has been no instance where demolition or removal of structures was undertaken without due process and consultation with critical stakeholders.

According to him, on October 31, 2024, a notice of a stakeholders' meeting was issued to all concerned and affected persons whose businesses and properties were on the right-of-way along the Nnewi-Ozubulu-Onitsha federal highway.

Mefor said the meeting was convened in the office of the Anambra State Commissioner for Works on November 1, 2024, after which a public announcement was issued, followed by a removal notice and marking of affected structures, which was activated on November 19, 2024.

He added that the chairman of Innoson Motors, Dr. Innocent Chukwuma was given notice several months ago, adding that he spoke to several people about it more than three months ago, including a call to Governor Chukwuma Soludo.

Mefor said: "The said Innoson property was listed in the registration as belonging to one Mrs. Eucharia Alaru and was marked as ASML/AOA/NW/L/066 for removal. For the avoidance of doubt, it is essential to state that the Federal Government's "right-of-way" is clearly defined by the subsisting Federal Highway Act of 1971 as the ground within 45.72 metres from the centre line of any federal highway in the nation.

This rule is a prime safety measure to secure and preserve human lives and ensure easy and unfettered vehicular movement.

All of this was made manifestly clear to the stakeholders at the meeting on November 1, 2024, and further communicated in the public notice signed by the Commissioner for Works subsequently.

While we sympathize with all affected businesses and properties along the statutory right-of-way, we must underscore that a government that has acted within the confines of the law, empathy and compassion cannot be blackmailed by any individual or group to derail the ongoing development of the state for selfish reasons.

The demolition of the said Innoson building occurred more than four months after notices had been issued to all concerned, including through the Nnewi town Union President General."

The Commissioner noted that the Soludo administration has continued to champion the cause of indigenous enterprises in words and action, which, he stated, exemplified in Governor Soludo's decision to make Innoson Vehicle Motor (IVM) his official fleet.

"It is on record that Governor Soludo is the first and still the only state governor to do so till today. It is, therefore, pertinent to correct the deliberate misinformation peddled by paid content creators to discredit the good works of the state government.

Their narrative is false, untrue, and at best, mischievous and a political machination of a few to score cheap, albeit selfish points. Those paid to spread falsehood, deliberately refused to also report that properties belonging to the first National leader of APGA, Dim Ojukwu, as well as his wife and current minister, Iyom Bianca Ojukwu, churches, and hundreds of others, were also demolished in the ongoing effort to rebuild Anambra.

Governor Soludo is driven by empathy for the people and will continue to ensure that nothing short of the public good in overriding public interest is done for the sake of posterity.

While we empathize and sympathize with all those affected, it is important to re-emphasize that all properties within 45.72 metres from the centre line of the road infringes on the right-of-way and are therefore illegal structures which ought to have been removed by their owners at their own cost.

This point is important for all property owners along the road or those intending to build in the future. Making Anambra livable and prosperous requires a state governed by law and order for everyone and not one where exceptions are made for the powerful", he concluded.