EndSARS: Lagos inaugurates “Rebuild Lagos Trust Fund”
Following the wanton destruction of property and businesses that greeted the #EndSARS protests, the Lagos State Government has inaugurated a trust fund to help rebuild the economy of the centre of excellence.
Recall that in October, the Lagos State Government had noted that it would take about N1 trillion to rebuild Lagos and revamp its economy from the destruction, arson and looting that happened during the #EndSARS protests.
The launch of the trust fund was held at the Adeyemi Bero Auditorium, Alausa, Ikeja. It was attended by the Governor, Babajide sanwoolu, Vice President, Prof Yemi Osibajo and Speaker, House of Representatives, Hakeem Gbajabiamila. Prof Osibajo, who represented President Muhammadu Buhari, launched the Trust fund.
Sanwo-Olu said the violence experienced during the protests was the most widespread carnage the state has seen in decades.
The governor said: “The violence had no doubt set our economy back by tens of billions of naira, and impacted our confidence. Let me assure you all that we will bounce back. We do not have a choice, really. Because this is who we are, this is what Lagos is; a resilient people, an irrepressible city. This is our history, and our DNA.
“Every threat and disaster the state had faced in the past had always ended up opening up, in its aftermath, an opportunity for a new kind of progress, one step backwards in the short term that paved the way for four steps forward in the longer term.”
Also speaking on the occasion, Prof Osinbajo said the fortune of the nation is tied to the fortunes of Lagos in so many ways.
“This is the state that leads by far in the collection of non-oil revenues. The bulk of the VAT (Value Added Tax) is generated here; of the 114 persons who pay self-assessed taxes of over N10 million, 112 of them live and work here in Lagos. The Lagos Port, whose Marina Office was attacked, generates the most revenue and it is the busiest in the country.”
Members of the Board of trustees include Chairman of the Board, Mr. Yemi Cardoso; Board members, Mrs. Bola Adesola and Prof Kanyinsola Ajayi; Lagos State Commissioner for Economic Planning and Budget, Mr. Sam Egube; Permanent Secretary, Lagos State Ministry of Works and Infrastructure, Engr Olujimi Hotonu, Mr. Gbenga Agboola and Mr Abubakar Suleiman.
The economies of most states in Nigeria had witnessed unimaginable adverse effects during the Covid-19.The latest initiative is unarguably the biggest by any state government in Nigeria to rebuild its economy after the destruction of the #EndSARS protest.
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