The Speaker of the Nigerian House of Representatives, Femi Gbajabiamila on Sunday October 25, visited Lagos State governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu ove the lost lives and government properties amid the #ENDSARS protest.
Speaker Gbajabiamila in a statement released after the meeting on Sunday said the destruction caused by the protesters will cost by estimation, a sum of One Trillion Naira (N1trn) to rebuild Lagos.
READ ALSO: #ENDSARS: President Buhari Breaks Silence On Lekki Shootings, Promises Justice For Victims
Part of the statement read:
“The governor was telling me just now that it was going to cost about a trillion naira to rebuild Lagos. That makes my heart heavy. And I asked the governor what’s the budget of Lagos State? What are you planning? And he told me that they’re planning a budget of about a trillion naira,
I came in from Abuja today, not just to stand in solidarity with him, but by extension the people of Lagos State. These have been very difficult few days. It has even been more difficult for me in the last hour. Driving in from the airport and sitting with the governor to watch the documentary here put together, that evidences the carnage we all witnessed. It makes us all very sad.
This, certainly, is not the Lagos of our dream that we all talk about. And I know deep down, and I believe no matter how brave a face one puts to it, that even the protesters have their regrets that things went this far, because from my understanding and from what I’ve seen, both those who are pro-protest and those who are anti-protest, were all affected.
There’s very little I can say. But I know that standing with me is a man of courage, a man of destiny. Because it’s very unusual for you to come into office, and within a year a few months, you witnessed two calamitous events: first, you were in the epicentre of Covid-19, which you dealt with to the admiration of all.
Whilst we were still grappling with that, you now became the epicentre of the protests. I want to encourage you to lift your head high, because you discharged your duties as a governor of a state that was troubled in the last few months, or close to one year.” He said.
He also said a judicial panel has been set up for further probing.
“A judicial panel has been set up, and I hope those who say this is what happened will have the courage to go before the judicial panel and say this is what happened and give credible evidence. And if that was indeed what happened, then the law must take its course. But if that was not what happened, the law must also take its course. Either way, the law must take its course.”
