The governor has come under fire this past weekend after he oversaw the demolition of two hotels he accused of violating his government's Executive Orders prescribed to curb the spread of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19).

The Prudent Hotel, Alode, Eleme, and Etemeteh Hotel, Onne were demolished on orders of the governor for operating after he had ordered a lockdown to combat the spread of the disease.

The governor has also in the past week ordered that vehicles seized from owners violating his lockdown order be auctioned off.

Many critics and Nigerians on social media have rebuked the governor for resorting to autocratic and illegal measures to crack down on offenders, but he insists he was well within his right.

In a statewide broadcast on Sunday, May 10, 2020, Wike said his actions are not arbitrary measures, but fully prescribed and backed by the laws of the state.

"From the very beginning we unequivocally declared our resolve to spare no efforts or resources in fighting this virus and safeguarding the collective health and safety of our people.

"We equally made it loud and clear that in the fight against COVID-19 there would be no sacred cows; no double standards, and no sentiments of any kind, whether political, ethnic, religious, status, emotional or otherwise," he said.

He noted that the vehicles to be auctioned off were confiscated by orders of the courts, and claimed that the hotel operators used thugs to attack the state's officials.

He said, "Similarly, we acted against the hotelier because, apart from using the facility to jeopardise the lives of our citizens in violation of the extant law, the owner audaciously unleashed thugs led by the Eleme Local Government Youth Leader of the Peoples Democratic Party and inflicted severe injuries on our task-force members who went to enforce the law against the continued operation of the hotel.

"As we speak, nobody knows the fate of the lives of most of the victims of that brazen and deadly attack given the severity of the head injuries they sustained."

The Rivers government has since declared the PDP youth leader in Eleme, Princewill Osaroejiji, wanted for various criminal activities, and announced a N5 million reward for anyone who supplies information that leads to his arrest.

The governor said he won't waste his energy engaging biased critics who have opted to demonise his 'lawful' actions.

The owner of the Prodest Hotel, Promise Gogorodari, said the government failed to carry out a proper investigation before deciding to destroy his property.

"There was no fair hearing before the demolition took place. With this, many people are out of job. I did not violate any order," he said.

The Lagos-based hotelier further stressed that demolishing the building was not a fair punishment even if he was found to have violated the governor's lockdown order.

Rivers has recorded a total of 21 coronavirus cases.

During Sunday's broadcast, Wike announced the temporary lifting of the total lockdown on Obio/Akpor and Port Harcourt local governments areas for two days - Tuesday, May 12, and Wednesday, May 13.

He said banks, hospitals, shops, supermarkets, malls, and oil and gas companies can provide full services to the public on those days until the lockdown is reinstated on Thursday, May 14.

However, other established restrictions on social distancing remain in force and will not change on Tuesday and Wednesday.

These restrictions include the compulsory wearing of face masks in public places; closure of all land, sea and air borders and entry points into the state; closure of all open markets, including slaughters, hotels, guest houses, cinemas, bars and restaurants; and a ban on gathering, including public burials, weddings, and religious gathering of more than 50 people.