You’re Destroying Years Of People’s Hard Work Overnight – Peter Obi Criticizes FG Over Demolitions

Peter Obi, the Labour Party’s (LP) presidential candidate in the general election of 2023, has bemoaned the government’s demolition of properties without due process or prior warning.

Obi denounced the government’s destruction of residents’ property and destruction of products in a statement released on Monday, calling such measures “willful” and “inhumane.”

He was incensed that, in just 29 months, the administration of President Bola Tinubu had plunged millions of Nigerians into poverty.

The demolitions “destroy livelihoods, undermine businesses, and threaten the economic security of hardworking citizens,” the former governor of Anambra said.

“I like to reiterate my strong condemnation of governments at any level willfully destroying people’s property and goods without notice,” he stated.

“It is still unacceptable that residents’ buildings have recently been demolished and their products and commodities destroyed.

“A government that has put millions of Nigerians into poverty in just 29 months with its policies and mannerisms ought to have empathy for its people.

“This is taking place all throughout the nation at a time when the government is meant to be helping people escape poverty. Rather, it is causing them to experience even more difficulty.

“What legal authority justifies the destruction of private property, clearly not used for criminal purposes , without prior notice or due process?” Obi questioned the morality and legality of the demolitions.

“We need to consider whether these acts are truly in the public interest or if they are disproportionate and capricious uses of power.”

Obi urged governments to make sure that enforcement measures and urban development respect the rule of law and the rights of residents.

He declared, “Citizens should have their investments, means of subsistence, and dignity protected.”

“In the meantime, these demolitions send a terrifying message to entrepreneurs throughout the country and beyond that their sacrifices and hard work can be erased in an instant.”

Obi said that Nigeria’s social cohesiveness and economic stability may be jeopardized if residents’ hardship is consistently ignored.

“We run the risk of eroding the fundamental pillars of social stability and economic progress if we do not speak out against such abuses. He asserted that no citizen’s right to earn a living by hard effort should ever be violated.