The Anambra State Government has demolished the showroom of Innoson Vehicle Manufacturing (IVM) located in Nnewi, the industrial hub of the state.
The company has expressed outrage over the partial demolition of the Head Office, situated on the Owerri-Nnewi road.
Mr Cornel Osigwe, Head of Corporate Communications at Innoson Group, who confirmed the demolition to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), said that there was no pre-notification ahead of the demolition which took place on Wednesday, April 16, 2025.
He claimed that the office perimeter fence, some offices, stair case and the company’s showroom were affected by the partial demolition.
According to Osigwe, there was no pre notification ahead of the demolition; it came to us as a surprise.
“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 the company was marked for demolition, and even if it was aware.
“There have been a public announcement that all the marked buildings have one week to relocate, but all those things were not considered.
“There were other buildings that were close to the head office and marked for demolition were not demolished but they came straight to our building and demolished it, making us to wonder if there was another ulterior motive to it,” he said.
When asked if the demolition could be as a result of political witch-hunt, the company’s image maker said he did not think the state government would intentionally decide to demolish the company.
“Gov. Charles Soludo of Anambra 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 to wonder if the state government is aware that those handling the demolition have personal vendetta against the company,” he added.