We demolished Rivers hotels in peoples' interest - Governor Wike
- Governor Nyesom Wike said the decision to pull down two hotels in Rivers state was not unilaterally conceived by him
- The governor also accused people of playing politics with the demolition in reaction to anger that trailed the action
- Wike noted that Rivers government did not have anything against the hoteliers, saying the decision was taken in the interest of people
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Nyesom Wike, Rivers governor, has come out with an explanation on the demolition of two hotels in the state over alleged violation of executive order, saying the decision was taken in the interest of people.
In a statement on Tuesday, May 26, Wike said the decision was not unilaterally taken but the Rivers security council was also involved.
Legit.ng reported that the demolition of the two hotels was widely criticised by Nigerians with the decision also deemed wrong by a human rights group SERAP which later dragged Wike to the ECOWAS court.
Source: Twitter
But defending the state government's action, Wike said he did not decide alone in the fight against Covid-19 in Rivers and he had no grudges against the hoteliers.
Wike, who accused people of playing politics with the decision, said no right-thinking human will take an action that will economically affect the residents of the state.
“Rivers State government does not have anything against hoteliers in the state, but decided to shut down their activities because some cases of COVID-19 were recorded in hotels.
“It’s not possible that the state government will intentionally close down hotels. But what I see is that people play politics with everything.
“The demolition of Prodest Hotel and Etemeteh Hotel in Eleme Local Government Area by the state government became necessary because the owners failed to comply with Executive Order 7," the governor said.
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Rivers government claims there is a plot to declare emergency rule in the state
Earlier, Legit.ng reported that Oby Ezekwesili, former minister of education and solid minerals, berated Governor Wike over what she termed as "flagrant abuse of power" after he demolished two hotels.
Amid mounting rage that trailed the demolition, Ezekwesili said the action of the governor is suggestive of "unaccountable governance style of the inglorious military era."
In a series of tweets on Sunday, May 10, the former presidential aspirant described the action of the governor as one lacking "self-discipline in the absence of social accountability ."
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