The presidential candidate of the Labour Party, Peter Obi, has come under fire for condemning the demolition of property across the country.
In a statement on his X account on Thursday, Obi expressed concern over the demolition, urging the government to focus on alleviating economic hardships and implementing measures to lift people out of poverty.
He wrote, “It’s with complete despondency and unhappiness that I have followed the ongoing demolitions of properties across the country, especially knowing the extra hardship such acts have been heaping on hapless citizens who are already battling with multi-dimensional 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.
“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.”
But reacting to the post, some netizens condemned Obi for playing to the gallery. The Seeker of Truth @tobijosephD wrote, “Excuse me please, How does demolition of mansions built by the rich on canals affect the poor, and those struggling? Silence would have been golden in this case rather than pandering to the outrage of the mob, which has given this law enforcement exercise a tribal tag.
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