Abia community asks Otti to return land taken for stalled industrial park
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Residents of Owaza in Ukwa West say more than 1,000 hectares acquired for the Abia Industrial Innovation Park has stood idle since the 2023 sod-turning, and want the land returned or construction to begin.
Residents of Owaza community in Ukwa West Local Government Area of Abia State have asked Governor Alex Otti to return land acquired for the proposed Abia Industrial Innovation Park (AIIP), saying there is still no sign of construction nearly four years after the project was announced.
The community says more than 1,000 hectares were taken for the park. Local reports have cited different figures for the land area, including more than 1,000 hectares and approximately 1,995 hectares. The stone-laying ceremony for the AIIP was held on September 30, 2023, and the park is intended to host modular refineries, petrochemical plants, fertiliser factories and steel production facilities.
Chidiebere Nweze, a resident, said the visit of reporters to the community had given residents a chance to draw attention to their situation. He said no meaningful development had taken place on the land since the project was announced, and that the unused expanse had been taken over by cattle herders, leaving residents afraid to use the area in the evening.
David Godwin, another resident, said the community initially welcomed the announcement because of the development and jobs they expected. Some landowners released their land voluntarily while others sold theirs in anticipation of better infrastructure, he said, but nothing followed.
“When the announcement was made that an industrial park would be constructed here, we were all happy. We believed it would bring development and opportunities to our people,” Godwin said. “But today, the reverse is the case. How can the government take such a massive land and up till now, nothing has been done? They should give us back our land.”
Residents said they would rather have roads, electricity and water than an industrial park in a community without basic infrastructure, and urged the state government to either start the project with the supporting services or hand the land back so that farming and other activities can resume. The state government had announced a compensation process for affected landowners when the land was acquired.