Lagos needs N1trillion to fix destroyed assets – Sanwo-Olu

It will cost not less than N1 trillion to rebuild Lagos State following last week’s massive destruction of public assets, according to Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu.

The state was the epicenter of looting, arson and destruction between Wednesday and Friday last week.

It cuts across all areas of endeavor, including businesses, government and private. Even the judiciary was not spared as court rooms were razed.

House of Representatives Speaker Femi Gbajabiamila, revealed the estimated cost during his visit to the governor at the Government House in Marina on Sunday.

Gbajabiamila, who visited to sympathise with the state along with members of the House of Representatives from Lagos, said: “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.”

Among other public assets destroyed are 89 new buses of the Bus Rapid Transport (BRT) burnt down in Oyingbo and Berger where they were parked.

Each of the buses, according to Commissioner for Information and Strategy Gbenga Omotoso costs about $200,000.

The multi-million naira forensic and DNA centre, the Igbosere High Court, local government secretariat buildings, and hundreds of vehicles, other public buildings scattered across the state, street lights, among others are affected.

Gbajabiamila visited Oba of Lagos Rilwanu Akiolu, whose palace was razed and looted as well as Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, the All Progressives Congress (APC) national leader.

The Speaker described  the destruction of properties as sad and should not occur again.

The Speaker said he did not wish the incident to take an ethnic dimension, having heard a lot of conspiracy theories about it.

– The Nation