In their bid to ensure that citizens right to decent housing and the right  to work and earn a living are not arbitrarily abused by a government that was supposed to protect and provide for the needs of the people, Social Action Nigeria, working in concert with civil society groups and community people, condemn the ongoing demolition exercise in Port Harcourt and  call on the Rivers State government to stop further displacement of the poor waterfront residents until proper data are taken and alternative accommodation provided for them.

The group is calling for a suspension of demolitions and forced evictions until participatory and transparent measures are taken to provide alternative housing for over two hundred thousand1 residents of 41 Waterfront communities in Port Harcourt, which have been home to millions of junior civil servants, fishers, artisans and casualised workers in the expensive oil city.

The group recalled bitterly that the government of Rivers state has in the past, under the leadership of Dr Peter Odili as Governor and Rotimi Amaechi (the present Governor of Rivers state) as Speaker, deceived and displaced the people of Rainbow town under the pretext of reconstruction and building of low cost housing for the evicted residents, only to give out the land to the rich and powerful in Nigeria.

Speaking further, Celestine AkpoBari, Programme Officer of Social Action, condemns a situation where unarmed citizens were forcefully evicted with armoured tanks and trucks loaded with military personnel, saying that Demolition of Njemanze Waterfront was carried out without any regard to  several International Human Rights covenants such as the Habitat Agenda Commitment which Nigeria is a state party to. “By international human rights standards, people affected by demolitions have the right to procedural protection, including genuine consultation, adequate compensation and proper notice as well as the right not to be evicted during a special season or bad weather as it is in Rivers state now”, he said. 

The groups is concerned that apart from the gross disobedience to an existing court order, Government did not take all appropriate measures to the maximum of its available resources to ensure that, before carrying out any demolition, adequate alternative accommodation was provided for all those that are likely to be displaced as recommended by international human rights conventions.

Media Contacts:

Celestine AkpoBari (08032733965) This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
Igoniko Oduma       (08038746427)

Social Action