Anambra Government Partially Demolishes Innoson Motors Head Office, Reports

The Anambra State Government has partially demolished the head office of Innoson Vehicle Manufacturing (IVM) in Nnewi, sparking outrage from the company.

The demolition was carried out without prior notification on Wednesday, April 16, 2025.

According to Mr. Cornel Osigwe, Head of Corporate Communications at Innoson Group, the demolition came as a surprise to the company. “The demolition 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.”

Staff were working when the demolition began, with some trapped inside. Over 20 vehicles were also trapped. Osigwe questioned the sudden demolition, noting that nearby buildings marked for demolition were spared. “There were other buildings that were close to the head office and marked for demolition that 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.”

However, the state Commissioner for Works, Mr. Ifeanyi Okoma, defended the demolition, saying that the IVM Head Office was among the buildings marked for demolition for road construction. “These buildings were marked sometime in December or January, we are not looking at individuals; it is something that cuts across the whole place and it is not personalised.”

Okoma also highlighted Governor Charles Soludo’s support for Innoson Vehicle Manufacturing. “Soludo is the only governor nationwide that uses made in Nigeria vehicles. Chief Innoson is our man; anybody trying to create wrong narrative about the demolition exercise does not mean well.”

 While the government claims the demolition is for road construction, Innoson Motors questions the sudden action and potential ulterior motives.