President Muhammadu Buhari, on Wednesday, during the weekly Federal Executive Council (FEC) meeting, got briefing on the shooting of protesting youths at Lekki Toll Gate, in Lagos State.
Minister of Works and Housing, Babatunde Fashola, while addressing State House Correspondents at the end of the meeting, explained that one of the recommendations to the Federal Government was the need to actively seek and support the process of justice for all by ensuring that any of those apprehended and identified to be involved in the perpetration of the carnage be speedily be brought to justice and fairly tried.
According to Fashola, recommendation was also made to the Federal Government to undertake a thorough investigation into what happened at the Lekki Toll Plaza, particularly the role of the military and ensure that the outcome is made public with a view to achieving closure on the matter.
Fashola disclosed that he briefed the council on behalf of ministers from the South West states which include Niyi Adebayo (Ekiti); Rauf Aregbesola (Osun); Sunday Dare (Oyo); Olamilekan Adegbite (Ogun); Olorunimbe Mamora (Lagos) and Tayo Aladura (Ondo).
He stated that council was briefed regarding the execution of the directive given to them on October 21 to visit state governors in their different states. He said: “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 and the country 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 visit.
The summary is that about 15 police stations were lost, commercial undertakings especially the ones in Lekki and many other parts in Surulere were damaged, some schools were also damaged, private properties were also damaged and public buildings like the city hall, the Lagos High Court, Lagos Forensic Laboratory and DNA Center, the Nigeria Ports Authority were also damaged.
The palace of the Oba of Lagos and many others.
“So, we presented the documentary evidence presented to us by the Government of Lagos State which was shown to Council.
“Then we visited a few palaces – the Lagos High Court led by Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu, we visited NPA, forensic laboratory and the Lekki Toll Plaza as well and as you all know, we found some items which we handed over to the state government at the site,” Fashola stated.
These were the highlights of the report that we presented.
“Minister of Youth and Sports, Mr. Sunday Dare, also visited the Lagos Island Hospital to empathise with seven persons who were reported to have sustained various degree of injuries in the ward and emergency unit.
“He (Dare) also visited media houses to commiserate with them on the destruction of property.”
He further stated that “the highlight of the brief was to make recommendations to the federal government to support Lagos State to restore damaged facilities especially those related to the maintenance of law and order and the administration of justice such as police, court buildings and forensic laboratory.
“To also consider supporting the Lagos High Court Judges either with the provision of some office accommodation as a temporary relocation when that request is made, of course it was hinted during the visit.
“To also urged federal government to consider short to medium term support to small and medium businesses who were affected by the looting and arson which took place in Lagos and other parts of the country, to see if something can be done through the Central Bank Intervention Mechanism under the COVID-19 funding or any other related funding mechanism.
{“And to also ensure that whatever is approved should also involved the National Economic Council, the platform on which state governors meet, so that other states across the country who were also affected, businesses were damaged can benefit in addition to Lagos residence who may so be supported.
“We recommended that the federal government re-mobilize critical organs and agencies such as National Orientation Agency and formal educational institutions to focus on ethical re-orientation, inculcation of family values into the school curriculum.
“We recommended focus on etiquette, local reasoning, critical thinking, solution seeking, empathy, self respect, civic duty and human rights.
“We also urged the Federal Government to implement the maintenance of facility management policy approved by FEC in 2019 for Federal Ministries, Department and Agencies and to encourage states to do the same.
“We do this because we see this as a usual vehicle to help absorb and create immediate employment of skilled, semi-skilled and unskilled Labour, in order to address huge unemployment and poverty related part of the problem.
“This is important because people have skills but we need to provide the economic environment in which those skills can become income earning and self rewarding.
“We urged government to also restore confidence in the police and their morale among the officers of men and women and to improve their welfare, whiles tracking the ongoing reforms being undertaken in the police force.
“We also urged the Federal Government to consider through the federal ministry of health issues of substance abuse amongst the populace and propose solutions because, this potentially affects mental health.
“We made this recommendation mindful of the global opium and substance abuse crisis and the impact on our country as well.
“We think this is a matter that requires some attention and focus,” Fashola said.
While speaking on the projects council approves for his ministry, Fashola also said two memoranda were presented to council, which relate to commitment on policy directive to complete existing projects.
According the him, the first one was the OyoOgbomosho highway, which is the 52-kilometre part of the Ilorin-Ibadan 145-kilometre highway, adding that the remaining part was the Oyo to Ogbomosho part which is 52 kilometres.
He continued, “We needed to adjust some things in the scope of work, the thickness of the pavement from 500mm to 560mm to also change the asphalt to polymer-modified bitumen and also the shoulders from surface dressing to fully asphalted inside and outside shoulder.
“So, all these required changes in prices of N47.504 billion and this has increased the total contract to N105.041 billion.
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“This was the revision that we presented which council approved. This road was awarded in 2010. As I said, sections 1 and 3 were completed.
“We are trying to complete section 2 which we also inherited.”
He disclosed that the second similar project to be completed was the Lokko-Oweto bridge across the River Benue that links Nasarawa and Benue states and provides a major time saving detour, about four hours, for people trying to come from south south, Benue, through to Nasarawa to Abuja.
Fashola said council approved N9.348 billion variation to complete the bridge, adding that change in the contract price was from N51.621 billion to N60.961 billion.
Also at the briefing, Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Mohammed Bello disclosed that FEC approved award of contract for the full scope development of Arterial road from Northern Parkway, Shehu Musa Yar’Adua Way to the Northern Express Way (ONEX)/ Metals Mohammed Way-North with the Federal Capital City, Abuja.
According to him, the contract was awarded to Messrs Gilmor Engineering Nigeria Limited at the same of N30,686,609,298.68 with completion period of 32 months.
