BY Temitope Yakubu
Some civil society organisations have expressed outrage over the recent demolition of two hotels on the orders of Nyesom Wike, governor of Rivers state.
Operators of the hotel had allegedly flouted the lockdown directives of the state government.
The CSOs, in a statement on Wednesday, said the action smacks of “impunity, assault on Rule of Law and setback to civilisation.”
The CSOs include notable civil rights movement like Civil Society Network Against Corruption (CSNAC), Rule of Law and Accountability Advocacy Centre (RULAAC), Democracy and Human Rights Network, Democracy and Human Rights Network among others.
Part of the statement read: ”The undersigned Civil Society Organisations, spread across Nigeria, have noted with utter embarrassment and outrage, the reckless abuse of power by Nyesom Wike, the Governor of Rivers State and his consistent drift towards a full-blown dictatorship.
”As lovers of democracy and believers in the rule of law, we are seriously concerned that Wike, who is a lawyer, could engage in such series of activities that blatantly subvert due process, undermine the rule of law and negate the norms of civilised and democratic practices.
”Wike, like a rampaging bull, has been engaging in one act of illegality after another in recent time ranging from the arbitrary arrest of caverton pilots and oil workers, to the closure of State boundaries, to the signing of an executive order authorizing the auction of all vehicles alleged to have violated his lockdown order and now, his most recent reckless act of illegal demolition of two hotels in Rivers State, which he personally supervised.
”Wike has been rightly described as ‘a colossal embarrassment to the Body of Benchers’ which we understand he belongs to, and we endorse the call on the Nigerian Bar Association, NBA to sanction him.
”We acknowledge that citizens must comply with orders meant to contain the spread of the Covid-19 pandemic and protect citizens and residents of Rivers State. We also condemn the violation of such orders by any citizen whatsoever. But we equally assert that two wrongs cannot make a right.
”A democratically elected governor should rise above arbitrariness and lawlessness. The Constitution guarantees citizens the right to own property and this right cannot be circumscribed without following the due process of law. The Rivers State Governor has no legal right in law to confiscate or demolish the property of citizens by executive fiat.
”Wike should not be allowed to continue to violate the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. We call on citizens of Rivers State to resist Wike’s dictatorship. They should challenge him through civic and legal means.”
The CSOs also called on the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), to speak up and condemn the governor’s “excesses or else lose any moral ground to criticise or oppose any act of malfeasance by the ruling All People’s Congress (APC).”
The CSOs are:
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