Lukman Olabiyi
Aftermath of #EndSARS mayhem, Lagos State Governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, yesterday, signed an Executive Order for the rebuilding of the state following massive destruction of property by hoodlums who hijacked the peaceful protest.
Apart from the executive order, the governor also constituted an eight-member board for the new Lagos State Rebuilding Trust Fund Committee (LRTFC) to oversee the rebuilding of every aspect of the state, look at the future of the state and healing of wounds of those bruised during the protest.
Membership of the Board cuts across private, public sectors and international bodies who have offered to assist in rebuilding the state.
The board is chaired by Mr. Yemi Cardoso, while other members include Prof. Kanyisola Ajayi, Mr. Gbenga Agboola, Mrs. Bola Adesola, Mr. Sam Egube, Jimi Hotonu, Mr. Abubakar Suleiman and a member of international donor agency.
The governor also set up six other committees to assist in the quick recovery of the state from the EndSARS crisis. They include Business Continuity Committee, Assessment Committee, Planning Committee, Execution, Measurement and Evaluation Committee, Security and Enforcement Committee and Communication and Community Engagement Committee.
Sanwo-Olu at a press conference, yesterday, held at the Lagos House, Alausa, Ikeja where he signed the executive order, said it was time to let go of the pains of the losses and focus on rebuilding the state.
He said the state government had been inundated with offers of assistance both locally and internationally to rebuild what was destroyed.
He said though a bill on LRTFC would be presented to the House of Assembly in few days for passage into law, he had to issue an executive order and set up the rebuilding committees because of the deluge of offers of assistance.
The governor assured that the state was going to come out of the ashes with upgraded structures and a modern Lagos as it embarked on reconciliation, rebuilding, unity, social reforms for the state to attain new height of development and “obtain greater heights for a greater Lagos”.
The governor said Lagos took pride in the ability of several ethnic nationalities to peacefully cohabit, while resiliently pursuing their personal goals and ambitions.
“It is in that cherished spirit of Lagos that we have decided to put behind us our most recent challenges and face the daunting task of collectively rebuilding our state. We believe that our culture, heritage, values and future are worth much more than the looting, arson and destruction, which we witnessed in Lagos State about two weeks ago.
“We have decided to look to the future with hope as we work on healing the wounds of our recent past. Instead of wallowing in our pain, we have chosen to positively move forward. We will embrace new standards of governance; we will build stronger partnerships, stronger people, stronger institutions, and a stronger state. Our strength lies in our uncanny ability to overcome the most complicated challenges because we have people who genuinely love Lagos State and will assiduously do all they can to preserve its peace and unity.
“In the last few weeks, we have been inundated with local and global offers of assistance to rebuild our state and recover all we lost to arson and violence in October. It is obvious that we can no longer wait to begin the onerous task of reconstructing Lagos State. In the next few days, our government will send a bill to the Lagos State House of Assembly for the Establishment of a Trust Fund to Rebuild Lagos.