Delta to Revoke Title Documents of Misused Industrial Land in Asaba

By Omon-Julius Onabu

Delta State Government has stated that it will go ahead with its plan to revoke the Certificate of Occupancy (C-of-O) of any land within the proposed Asaba Industrial Estate that was not used for the designated purpose for which such piece of land was allocated.

The state Commissioner for Information, Mr. Charles Aniagwu, disclosed this during briefing on major resolutions at the State Executive Council meeting held yesterday at the Government House, Asaba, presided over by the state Governor, Dr. Ifeanyi Okowa.

The commissioner, however, said: “Approval status support on the Asaba Industrial Estate was given by the state Exco,” adding that in giving the approval, the state government examined the status of land that had been allocated to a number of industrialists previously.

“The essence of the status support is to ensure that the allocations fall in line with the government desire to have a functional industrial estate,” he stressed, noting that those who may have decided to deploy some of the land allocated to them to other uses will now realise that they have to use the land for the designated purpose for which the land was allocated them.

Affected allotees in the Asaba Industrial Estate would have to come forward for the purpose of revalidation, he further said, warning that those who have decided not to do anything at all on the land allotted to them would have their C of O revoked by the state government.

Aniagwu said: “Today, the state government approved a number of projects that would further transform our communities and advance our urban renewal drive as well as link our communities to one another.

“All these projects are still very much in line with our five-point agenda, and of course, you do know that these agenda are inter-related whether in the area of strategic wealth creation or in the area of transformed environment through urban renewal or in the area of building peace and creating harmony in the state.

“So, in continuation of these interrelated agenda, we have approved a number of projects today; the first being approval of the status support on the Asaba Industrial Estate.

“In this status support, we were able to examine the status of land allocated to a number of industrialists before now.

“The essence is to make those allocations to fall in line with our desire to have a functional industrial estate and that those who may have decided to deploy some of the land allocated to them will now realise that they have to use it for the proper purpose.”

He added that the state government also gave approval for the rehabilitation of the Owa-Oyibu Sports Complex and other aspects in decay.

Moreover, in order to aid access to the new Federal Road Safety Commission Training School in Owa-Alero also in Ika North-East Local Government Area of the state, he said the access road was also approved for tarring and total reconstruction.

Other roads approved by the government include Dorathy Street and Owa-Nta Street in Boji-Boji Owa; Mbiri township roads, internal roads in Kunukoma community in Warri South West as well as Akugbene-Mein township roads.

On the seeming silence of the state government on the widely reported disagreement over the succession to the throne of Olu of Warri in the Itsekiri kingdom, following the reported demise of Ogiame Ikenwoli, the 19th Itsekiri monarch, the information commissioner stated that the state government was yet to be formally informed about the true state of things in the kingdom by the appropriate Itsekiri traditional authorities.

Aniagwu pointed out that the guidelines and processes for installing a new traditional ruler in any given kingdom in the state remained the business of the people of the kingdom, saying the government could only come in after the respective kingdom had brought forward its right successor to the throne for consideration for the necessary staff-of-office presentation through the government approval and submission to the state legislature.