Governor of Imo State, Rochas Okorocha, said on Thursday the state government would revoke titles to all unused lands.
He said government would give priority to the Industrial layouts where people acquired lands and kept them for years without developing it, while waiting to sell them at very exorbitant prices.
The governor stated these when members of the Owerri Chamber of Commerce, Industry, Mines and Agriculture visited him at the Government House in Owerri.
Okorocha also said his administration would reactivate 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.
He said: “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.
“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.
“I have equally ordered that all un-utilized 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, thanked the governor for remembering the manufacturing sector in the state and promised the collaboration of the members for the industrialization of the state.
He appealed to Okorocha 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.