Imo threatens to revoke undeveloped plots’ certificates

The Imo government on Thursday threatened to revoke lands allocated more than 30 years ago which had yet to be developed or put to proper use.

The Commissioner for Lands, Survey and Urban Development, Mr. Uche Nwosu, issued the threat in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria in Owerri.

Nwosu, who inspected the undeveloped plots in parts of the state capital, said that some of them had been lying fallow while others had not been put to proper use.

Nwosu, however, attributed the delay in the provision of infrastructure in the affected areas to the inability of past administrations to pay compensations to the original land owners.

He said the present administration had decided to pay all the compensations on the land and open up the areas for development.

“The Imo government has now paid all the necessary compensations on the land to the land owners and we are opening them up for the owners to start development,” he said.

He said that any land owner who failed to comply with the government’s directive would have his/her certificate of occupancy revoked.

He commended the original land owners for their patience and understanding with the government, adding that Governor Rochas Okorocha would continue to partner with communities to move the state forward.

Meanwhile, construction of access roads to the affected areas has commenced.

Some of the plots covering 100 hectares are located in Area “U” and Area “UA,” while 60 others are in Rescue Layout.