Peter Obi tags demolition exercises by state govts as insensitive, urges compassion

Peter Obi, the Labour Party’s presidential candidate for the general election of 2023, on Tuesday, urged state governments to have compassion when demolishing buildings and other structures all around the nation.

Some properties were recently demolished by the governments of Lagos and Kano states as well as other states for allegedly breaking regulations.

A segment of Nigerians who perceived the demolitions as vengeful have protested them.

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In response to the government’s demolition of alleged “illegal” constructions on Tuesday, Obi urged the authorities to establish a balance between following regulatory standards and demonstrating concern for people’s feelings and well-being.

Obi, on his Twitter handle, said, “We face a paradox: with a 70 million housing deficit and vast unmet housing needs nationwide, some resort to the self-help of building structures that serve as homes, businesses, SMEs offices, and stores. Invariably, some of these structures were either not approved or were built with the tacit collusion or approval of the local authorities.

“While some of these ongoing demolitions may be excusable, they have nonetheless left many victims, mostly ordinary people who erred innocently or were ill-informed or misguided.”

He, therefore, urged the governments to take proactive measures to strike a balance when dealing with such issues.

“I respectfully appeal to various governmental authorities to marry the need to enforce compliance with extant regulatory regimes, with consideration for human feelings and necessary compassion.

“In Nigeria, we live in a time of extreme difficulties for citizens because of stagnated income, spiralling inflation, huge unemployment, escalating socio-economic costs, and high costs of living. Nigerian citizens should, therefore, not be subjected to the additional stress of unexpected hardship,” Obi noted.

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