Governor Nyesom Wike has spoken on why his government pulled down two hotels in Rivers State following the violation of the executive order put in place to curb the spread of the deadly coronavirus that is ravaging the world over.
The demolished hospitality spots, Prudent Hotel and Etemeteh Hotel, are located in Eleme and Onne areas of Rivers State respectively.
Interestingly, Governor Wike personally supervised the demolition exercise.
Defending his actions in a statement on Sunday May 10, 2020 Mr Wike maintained his government was left with no option but to apply the Executive order which he signed before the lockdown of Obio/Akpor and Port Harcourt.
His defence reads…
“Government has no alternative but to apply the Executive order which I signed before the lockdown of Obio/Akpor and Port Harcourt. I called all the Traditional Rulers and Council Chairmen and told them to ensure that no hotel operates in the State.
“We are not saying it will be forever. This is for now so that we know where we are. To reduce the cases and check the spread.
“Whether you are PDP or not, all we are saying is that nobody is above the law. If we can do this to a PDP person, then you know we are not discriminatory. Everyone must obey. Whether you are in the PDP, SDP or no party, you must obey the law. If any other person does the same thing, the same rule will apply.
“We said no hotel should operate within this period. Unfortunately, the PDP Youth Leader in Eleme joined others to flout the Executive Order. Therefore, the executive order will be applied.
“We said if any hotel operates, the government will bring down that hotel. We are doing what we have told people that we are going to do.
“Nobody wants to obey any rules. We are saying just for now, keep off, let us see how we can keep our people safe.
“Look at the rate of infections, most of these people are found in hotels. Look at the man that died, he was at Mingi Hotel in Rumumasi. Due to that contact, we have had other seven cases.
“People should help us and support the Government for Rivers people to be safe. The Security Council will meet to review the strategies and achievements or setbacks, moving forward.
“All we are doing is to protect our people. Some people may not like our strategies, but our objective is to achieve results. ”
