The Imo State Government’s decision to convert a seized Rochas Okorocha property near the Aba Road and Wetheral Road junction in Owerri into a non-digital skills training centre has created some ruckus with analysts saying it deserves applause and a plan to survive.
The property belongs to a wider recovery drive. A High Court in Owerri ordered the “final and absolute” forfeiture of contested properties linked to the former governor, listed in the state’s white paper on land recovery.
Among them was a plot originally given to the Ministry of Women Affairs for a skills acquisition centre for women, which was allegedly acquired for the benefit of a private store on Aba Road. Putting training back on recovered public land is a fitting outcome.
Good intentions don’t pay for equipment, instructors and maintenance, though. Public training centres often fade once the commissioning ceremony is over, and no private-sector partner has been publicly announced for this one.
Imo already has a model that works. The Commissioner for Digital Economy described Imo Digital City Limited as a public-private partnership in which the state government is one partner among several, and said this structure guarantees sustainability because private partners bring the funding.
The US Market Access Center committed to invest $15 million in the project. Governor Uzodimma says over 65,000 youths have been trained in digital skills through the initiative, and that his administration has repositioned government as an enabler rather than an operator of business.
The same logic should apply here. Trades such as fashion, welding, catering, auto repair and construction have industry players, banks and development partners who could supply equipment, instructors, certification and job placement in return for access to trained talent. The state should publish the operating model, including who funds what, who manages the centre and how it earns revenue, before the doors open.
A skills centre without a funding plan risks becoming an empty building again. The Imo Digital City template shows the state knows how to avoid that
