Investors Call For Release Of ‘Seized’ Property By Imo Government

Owners of the proposed G Plaza Hotels, Owerri, have appealed to the Imo State government to honour an out-of-court settlement and allow them take full possession and resume business operations.

The call was made by the legal representative for G Plaza Hotels, Barr Emeka Ihejirika in Owerri while addressing newsmen.

Ihejirika appealed to Governor Hope Uzodimma to allow negotiations and release the property to Senator Athan Achonu to commence business.

He said the completion of the multi-billion naira investment had been stalled for 15 years due to government interference and bureaucratic red tape despite an out-of-court settlement involving the parties.

A former governor of the state, Rochas Okorocha, had ordered the stoppage of work on the building after billions of naira were sunk into it.

He disclosed that Okorocha reneged on a pre-existing agreement between the state government and Senator Athan Achonu, the owner of G Plaza Hotels on a stipulated 60/40 land split of the old Imo hotels premises.

According to him, Okorocha unilaterally abrogated it and proceeded to construct the International Conference Center on part of the disputed land which was reconstructed by Governor Hope Uzodimma and renamed the Emmanuel Iwuanyanwu International Conference Centre.

He disclosed that under former governor, Emeka Ihedioha, they entered into an out of court settlement which currently subsists.

Ihejirika said upon completion, the plaza had potentials to provide employment to several people to support their families but lamented that the property was yet to begin business operations for 15 years running.

According to him, the edifice is expected to house over 100 hotel rooms, a tissue paper, and table water production factories but had been stopped despite the huge resources invested.

Ihejirika said “We are calling on the government to let us continue the negotiations because it is painful watching this edifice lay in waste when it has potentials to employ people to meet their economic needs to fend for their families.

“We suffer constant harassment from officials of the State government and the Owerri Municipal local government Council because we are trying to keep this place neat and safe despite the quagmire, we still pay security operatives to safeguard the entire property pending resolution of the issue.

“During the protracted legal battle, an Owerri high court ruled in favor of Senator Achonu and awarded ₦100 million in damages. However, the state government’s response was to file an “empty appeal”, a tactic seemingly designed to frustrate the judgment rather than seek justice.

“Despite the setbacks, G Plaza Hotels has remained open to negotiation, adhering to the principle that government is a continuous entity, regardless of who is in power. Successive administrations have been met with cooperation, including a formal apology and out-of-court settlement offer from then Governor Emeka Ihedioha.

“Governor Hope Uzodimma ordered an integrity test which gulped ₦20million but after that, we are yet to secure an appointment to discuss the report of the test and the investment is wasting, hard earned money.

“Today, the site remains a testament to bureaucratic ineptitude,  we are forced to spend millions annually to clear the grounds and fumigate the area, at least five times in a year to keep away rodents, snakes, and miscreants”, Ihejirika said.

He called on the government to resume the negotiations noting that it was painful watching the investment waste.