The presidential candidate of the Labour Party (LP) in the 2023 general elections, Mr. Peter Obi, has urged the Federal Government and some state governments to give a human face to governance, especially with regard to property demolitions being conducted around the country.
Obi advised governments to exercise caution with property demolitions, considering the harsh economic realities of the moment, so as not to further aggravate the condition of Nigerians.
In a post on social media platform, X (formerly Twitter), on Thursday, Obi urged the Federal and state governments to consider putting building demolitions on hold for the moment.
Demolition of buildings recently resumed in Lagos with the state government and the Federal Housing Authority pulling down structures in Ikota, Lekki, Alaba, Ajao Estate, Abule Ado, Ladipo Market, and other areas of the state.
The structures being demolished were said to have been blocking drainage channels and otherwise contravening the state’s structural and environmental master plan.
The exercise is said to have rendered teeming Nigerians homeless with several more at risk of being displaced.
Obi said the exercise heaped extra hardship on Nigerians who are already contending with the many faces of poverty.
“What a responsive government should be doing under the current harsh economic conditions in the country is to come up with measures aimed at alleviating the people’s hardships and to carry out measures that will take more people out of poverty,” Obi said. “Even if there are some violations as the governments are claiming, this critical time is not auspicious for such an exercise, knowing the hardship in the land and the consequences it will have on the poor who are struggling to make ends meet with their little resources.
“The poor in our midst who are putting their meagre resources are going through very severe financial stress that should not be multiplied further. In some cases, the properties being demolished are the lifetime savings and retirement abodes of the aged and incapacitated.
“My appeal therefore is for the respective governments involved in this act to consider the hardship in the country and try and put a human face to their actions. While we should enforce sensible regulations, all actions of government must show compassion,” he said.
