Rivers State Governor, Nyesom Wike, has dismissed claims that the ongoing demolition of the popular abattoir, the Oginiba Slaughter Market, located at Trans-Amadi Industrial layout, Obio-Akpor, is aimed at victimising some ethnic or religious groups in the state.
Wike submitted that anyone giving religious or ethnic coloration to the demolition did not mean well for Rivers and the country.
He maintained that besides the area being a haven for criminal elements, its location at the Trans-Amadi Industrial Area was considered inappropriate in line with the government’s urban renewal policy.
Wike spoke on Friday when he visited the former Oginiba slaughter the market for on-the-spot assessment of the ongoing demolition.
He said: “So anybody bringing religious or ethnic coloration doesn’t mean well for the people of the state and the country. And I am not going to be perturbed; I am not going to be cowed and also I am not going to be blackmailed by anybody.”
Wike said that the government had already commenced the construction of a modern abattoir , fitted with state-of-the-art equipment in Mgbuosimini, Rumueme of Obio-Akpor council, adding that the new facility had the capacity to slaughter 400 cattle as well as 1500 goats and sheep per day.
The governor said the state government would develop the site of the former Oginiba Slaughter market to suit its urban renewal policy.
He commended the Ministry of Agriculture and the State Task Force on Illegal Trading And Parks for successfully overseeing the demolition exercise.
The governor said he was delighted with the feedbacks he was getting from residents of the state, who were delighted by the measures taken by the government to restore sanity around the Oginiba market.
“People are happy. People have been commending us. Go to social media, people are saying they never believed that a government can take this kind of drastic action that is long overdue. And like I said, we don’t believe in doing things without giving a human face to governance.”
