President Muhammadu Buhari, on Friday, met with Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu of Lagos State behind closed doors where he received pictorial reports on properties damaged by hoodlums during #EndSARS protests in the state.
The governor presented a report on the extent of the destruction suffered by Lagos State in the aftermath of the ENDSARS protests.
The governor, however, declined to take questions from State House Correspondents at the end of the meeting.
It would be recalled that similar report on the aftermath of the ENDSAR protest by the Ministers from the south west zone of the country was presented to the president during the Federal Executive Council on Wednesday.
The Minister of Works and Housing, Babatunde Fashola (SAN), submitted the report on behalf of the affected ministers where they urged the Federal Government to support Lagos State to restore damaged facilities.
They particularly appealed for the immediate repair of those facilities related to the maintenance of law and order, and the administration of justice such as police stations, court buildings and forensic laboratory in the state.
Buhari had on October 21 sent members of the Federal Executive Council to their home states, with a view to solicit the support of stakeholders including political, traditional, religious and community leaders against the violence that emanated from #EndSARS protests.
The presidential directive was also meant to douse tensions that resulted from the #EndSARS protests across the country.
Fashola said: “The other matter in which I briefed council on behalf of ministers from the South-West namely, Otunba Niyi Adebayo, representing Ekiti; Rauf Aregbesola, representing Osun, Sunday Dare, representing Oyo, Olamilekan Adegbite, representing Ogun, Olorunimbe Memora, Lagos and Tayo Alasoadura, representing Ondo, was in regard to how we executed the directive on the October 21 to ministers, for us to visit our states’ governors.
“So, we first met and then met with governors. After meeting with the governors, the position of the governors was that Lagos being the epic center, commercial and strategic city state in the South-West is where we should all go.
“That was what informed our visit to Lagos. So, I just briefed council about the reports that were presented to us by the Lagos State Government when we visited.’’
Meanwhile, the Lagos State Commissioner for Information and Strategy, Mr. Gbenga Omotoso, has urged all residents of the state to eschew violence.
In a statement, he said: ”The Lagos State Government has urged all Lagosians to shun any act that may threaten the peace of our dear state, which is battling to recover from the shock of the carnage unleashed by hoodlums who hid under the #EndSARS protests.
Even as we are still counting our painful losses in lives and property, there are hints of a new protest. The police have warned that no protest will be tolerated.
Any protest under any guise will be disrespectful to the memory of those who died in the violence and unfair to ordinary Lagosians, who have remained peaceful, despite the hardship that the original protests sparked.
It is clear that the original protests, despite their good intentions, have caused more havoc than they were planned to resolve.
The Government, hereby, appeals to our patriotic youths to shelve any plan for a protest and join the practical efforts to find a solution to the problems that have been thrown up by the actions taken in recent weeks.
Parents and guardians are enjoined to keep their children /wards at home; they should not be used as tools of destruction by enemies of our society.
Anybody who has any grievance against the disbanded SARS should approach the Judicial Panel of Inquiry and Restitution to make his case.
Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu advises all Lagosians to remain calm and confident that the government will guard jealously the emblem of peace that Lagos is famous for. Any person or group of persons who plans to fuel any crisis in Lagos should drop such thoughts or be ready to face the law”.
