By Charles Igbo
Hoteliers in Rivers State are in trouble. If they are not careful, their hotels would become rubbles. They would be pulled down to ground zero.
This is not a threat; it is a promise, according to Rivers State Governor, Nyesom Wike.
In a broadcast to Rivers people on Sunday, August 7, 2022, Wike said he would pull down any hotel whose management makes available for political meetings. Meaning that, according to the Governor, Hotels in the State are barred from being venues for political meetings. Otherwise, the Governor said, any such hotel will be pulled down.
The Governor said such Hotels are used as venues to plot against Government and how to destabilise the peace in the State.
He said during such meetings, thugs and cultists and questionable characters are recruited by Politicians to cause a breach of the peace.
This threat has rattled Hoteliers and Club owners in the State who make money when their concerns are venues for political meetings. But the Governor is neither moved nor worried over the loss of revenue by the owners.
Opposition parties in the State, especially, the All Progressives Congress, APC, think the threat against the Hotels and Clubs are targeted at them. Said an APC chieftain who pleaded anonymity because he is not authorised to speak for the party: “Not only is Governor Wike strangulating the economic activities of the State by this order, his main aim is to deny the opposition venues to hold their meetings. We are likely to challenge this in Court so he can prove where and how politicians recruit thugs and cultists during political meetings.”
Here are the words of an unperturbed Governor Wike:
In Governor Wike’s words,
“The government and the security agencies have laboured hard to secure the prevailing peace and security, which we are determined to sustain for the benefit of the progress of the State and the wellbeing of our citizens.
“However, we are not unaware of the intelligence report on some misguided politicians who have started the process of recruiting cultists, supporters and ex-convicts as thugs in furtherance of their political aspirations for 2023.
“The Government and the Security Agencies have laboured hard to secure the prevailing peace and security, which we are determined to sustain for the benefit of the progress of the State and the wellbeing of our citizens.
“However, we are not unaware of the intelligence report on some misguided politicians who have started the process of recruiting cultists, supporters and ex-convicts as thugs in furtherance of their political aspirations for 2023.
“We have also been informed that owners of hotels and entertainment centres are giving out their premises to politicians and political parties as a convenient base for the gathering of these political thugs across the State.
“For the avoidance of doubt, the State Government will pull down hotels and other entertainment places that are linked howsoever with such criminal political activities.
“I wish to reiterate our unwavering commitment to safeguarding the sanctity of lives and property throughout the State and to reassure everyone that we shall continue to spare no effort to keep Rivers State safe and secure.”
“We will not allow any political party, be it the All Progressives Congress, the Peoples Democratic Party or the Social Democratic Party to threaten the safety and security of lives and property during the campaigns with mayhem, thuggery or violence.
“We also wish to warn owners of hotels and proprietors of relaxation centres to take notice and desist from releasing their facilities for politicians and party leaders to use to meet and plot against the peace, safety and security of our State.
