Tenants Query Amnesty’s Interest In Waterfront Demolition

The Rivers State Chapter of the National Union of Tenants of Nigeria (NUTN) has querried Amnesty International’s Interest in the demolition of shanties in Port Harcourt waterfronts, even as it accused the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) of sponsoring groups to oppose the government on the demolition exercise.

The General Secretary of the union, Rev. Ceassore Enwefoh told The Tide in an exclusive interview on Thursday in Port Harcourt, that the issue of demolition of shanties in the Port Harcourt waterfronts is outside the mandate of the organisation.

Rev. Enwufoh also said that the organisation has a question to answer on why it did not criticise the recent displacement of five thousand people from Dellfarm in London.

“You can never find slums in London, but any little demolition here, you see Amnesty International talking,” he said.

Meanwhile, the National Union of Tenants of Nigeria (NUTN) has accused the state chapter of the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) of mobilising some organisations in the state to oppose the Government Demoiltion Programme.

General Secretary of the Union, Rev. Ceasore Enwufoh, who said this in an interview with The Tide in Port Harcourt particularly accused the party of inciting hoodlums, the Social Action and Stakeholders Democraic Network (SDN) to embark on street protest against the proposed demolition excise.

He noted that this situation made some honest people including his union to pull out of the struggle.

“At a point in time, National Union of Tenants of Nigeria never wanted to associate itself because they were detracted from the original objectives, because National Union of Tenants of Nigeria does not go on street protest,” he said.

The NUTN General Secretary urged the security Agencies to watch out for those who normally put on the T Shirts that bear the inscription, “Housing is a Human Right” as most of them are criminals.

“The State Governor was against hoodlums which is one of his reason for waterfront demolition, so the people that this same group are using are equally the same criminals that the Governor is seeking to demolish the waterfronts.

He said that the criminals were being lured with money and T Shirts to embarked on public demonstration against government.”

“May be this could be a challenge to the police. Let them get to the waterfronts, and at random just search fifty of them, you will see that not less than thirty of them have exhibits in their pockets,” he alleged.

He however, noted that the union will continue to insist that both landlords and tenants be carried along in the demolition exercise.