Reps to support FG’s efforts to rebuild Lagos, others, says Gbajabiamila
Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, yesterday, emphasised the need to thoroughly investigate deep causes of the chaos that led to the destruction of life and property in Lagos State amid #EndSARS protests.
Osinbajo, who spoke at the inauguration of the Board of Trustees of the Rebuild Lagos Trust Fund, said that the violence that took place portends a major economic setback for Nigeria.
According to him, there are many ways that the future of the country is closely tied to the fortune of the state, stressing that the state leads in the collection of non-oil revenues.
The Vice President, who disclosed that President Muhammadu Buhari was awaiting the full report of the incident, added that the Executive was having a conversation with the National Assembly on the collaboration that must take place between the Executive and the Legislature to fast-track the reconstruction efforts.
“I don’t know how the noble course such as the #Endsars protest designed to call attention to a serious problem of the brutality of extra-judicial killings by law enforcement agents can be subverted and lead to the exact opposite of its objective, chaos, murder, looting, and arson.
“We have seen what can happen when the strings of law and order are loosed and anarchy is given a free rein. Society is bent on balances between freedom and order.
“We have also realised that order itself in a social context is sustained by the consent of the governed.
MEANWHILE, Speaker of the House of Representatives, Femi Gbajabiamila, has said that the House was ready to support the interventions of the Federal Government to rebuild Lagos and other states worst-hit by the protests.
Gbajabiamila also tasked Lagosians to put heads and resources together to rebuild the state in view of the destruction of property worth billions of naira in the state.
He said he was heartbroken after going round the state for an on-the-spot assessment of the devastation that followed the unrest.
Lagos State Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu said: “The violence has no doubt set our economy back by tens of billions of naira, and impacted our confidence. We have, however, found hope and great strength in the offers of assistance from far and wide, which culminated in the constitution of the Lagos Rebuild Committee to co-ordinate our efforts to rebuild and upgrade our state.
Also, Governor of Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Godwin Emefiele, who stated that the public and private sector must address youths’ unemployment, said: “If youths’ unemployment is left unchallenged, it can provide ground for our youths to engage in nefarious activities that could be harmful to the progress of the country.
“We must therefore seek to promote increasing policies that will equip our youths in the right skills that will support innovation, employment, and wealth creation.”
