Peter Obi Slams Federal Government For Demolishing Citizens’ Properties, Says Hard Work Being Erased Overnight

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

In a statement released on Monday, Obi denounced the government’s “willful” and “inhumane” damage of people’ property and destruction of commercial property.

In just 29 months, the administration of President Bola Tinubu has plunged millions of Nigerians into poverty, which infuriated him.

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

“I would like to once again express my strong disapproval of governments at any level destroying people’s property and goods without warning,” he stated.

“The destruction of residents’ property and the recent devastation of their commodities and trade are still unacceptable.

A government whose policies and mannerisms have caused millions of Nigerians to live in poverty in just 29 months ought to have empathy for its people.

At a time when the government is meant to be rescuing people from poverty, this is taking place all throughout the nation. Rather, it is making their situation much more difficult.

Obi questioned the demolitions’ moral and legal foundation, posing the question, “What legal authority allows the destruction of private property, manifestly not utilized for criminal purposes , without prior warning or due process?

“We must ask: are these acts arbitrary and disproportionate exercises of power, or are they truly in the public interest?”

Obi urged governments to make sure that the rule of law and citizens’ rights are respected in urban development and enforcement measures.

He asserted that “citizens deserve protection for their investments, livelihoods, and dignity.”

In the meantime, these demolitions convey a terrifying message to business owners both domestically and abroad: their sacrifices and hard work can be undone in an instant.

Obi said that a persistent indifference to the suffering of the populace may jeopardize Nigeria’s social cohesiveness and economic stability.

The basic pillars of social stability and economic progress could be undermined if we don’t speak out against these injustices. The right of every individual to establish a living via hard effort must never be violated, he declared.