Mixed reactions have trailed the recent demolition of the Head Office of the Innoson Vehicle Manufacturing (IVM) at Nnewi-Owerri Road at Nnewi in Nnewi North Local Government Area of Anambra state by the state government.
The IVM Head Office building was partly demolished by the state government to make way for the ongoing road expansion in the area.
The magnificent building has been rendered useless by the demolition exercise, which also effected hundreds of other buildings, shops, and other structures located along the same road and other road constructions going on in some other parts of Nnewi and its environs, leaving many in loss.
The demolition exercise has sparked off a chain of reactions and counter-reactions, both among the affected persons and concerned authorities.
Another aspect of the exercise that has sparked off another strand of reactions was the speculation and allegation that the perimeter fence of the St Mary’s Pro-Cathedral, Nnewi, which blocks the way for the construction of a drainage channel in the ongoing road expansion, was spared and avoided, following the alleged refusal of the authorities of the Diocese for anyone to ‘touch’ the church fence, allegedly making the contractor to construct drainage on only one side of the road in the area, sparing the side of the church fence.
Confirming the demolition of its Head Office building, the Innoson Vehicle Manufacturing (IVM) company expressed displeasure over the incident.
Reacting, Mr Cornel Osigwe, the Head of Corporate Communications at Innoson Group, said there was no pre-demolition notice served them by anyone ahead of the demolition, adding that it came to them as a surprise.
According to him, the office perimeter fence, some offices, the staircase and the company’s showroom were affected by the partial demolition.
His words: “We did not know that the building itself was marked for demolition, and if it was marked, they should have given us time to relocate.
“The staff were working, and they just saw the demolition vehicle demolishing the building while work was going on.
“Some of our staff were trapped in the building; it took the efforts of our other staff to rescue those that were trapped while over 20 vehicles were also trapped.
“A day before the demolition, there was an announcement that there was going to be a demolition, and they were going to give one week for the houses that were marked for demolition to relocate.
“The company was not aware that it was also marked for demolition, and even if it was aware.
“We are surprise when demolition was going on, they should have given us a grace and notify us.
“There has been a public announcement that all the marked buildings have one week to relocate, but many things were not considered.
“There were other buildings that were close to the head office and marked for demolition that were not demolished, but they came straight to our building and demolished it, making us wonder if there was another ulterior motive to it.”
When asked if the demolition could be as a result of a political witch-hunt, the IVM Spokesman said he did not think the state government would intentionally decide to demolish the company.
“Gov. Chukwuma Soludo has been a great supporter of Innoson Vehicle, and Innoson has been a great supporter of the state government.
“But the way and manner that everything happened makes us wonder if the state government is aware that those handling the demolition have a personal vendetta against the company.”
Engr. Ifeanyi Okoma, the Commissioner for Works, said the Innoson Vehicle Manufacturing (IVM) Head Office building was among the buildings marked for demolition for road construction in the state.
Okoma explained that all the affected buildings were marked long time ago, adding that the people were duly informed before the demolition exercise.
His words: “These buildings were marked sometime in December or January. We are not looking at individuals; it is something that cuts across the whole place, and it is not personalised.
“Even the Catholic Church and every other building that is along the road were not going to be exonerated. These roads were designed to decongest traffic gridlock experienced during festival periods,” he said.
He emphasised that there was no political undertone behind the demolition exercise, as being speculated, stressing that there is no issue or rift between the state government and IVM.
“Soludo is the only governor nationwide that uses made-in-Nigeria vehicles. Chief Innoson is our man; anybody trying to create a wrong narrative about the demolition exercise does not mean well,” he affirmed.
Meanwhile, the ongoing demolition and road construction have continued to generate reactions and counter-reactions among the citizens.
