Sanwo-Olu unveils #EndSARS trust fund to rebuild destroyed properties

Babajide Sanwo-Olu, Lagos State Governor, has set up the Lagos Rebuild Trust Fund for the reconstruction of public property destroyed during the violence that stemmed from the #EndSARS protest in the state.

The governor also constituted an eight-man LRTF committee, noting that he would soon send a bill to the House of Assembly in respect of the trust fund.

Sanwo-Olu, who disclosed these on Wednesday while signing an executive order to inaugurate the committee, said the state government had received offers from outside the country to rebuild the affected property.

He stated, “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.

“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.

“However, with the deluge of offers of immediate help and assistance that we have received locally and internationally, we can no longer wait until the bill is passed. It is expedient that our enumeration, recovery, and rebuilding efforts start as soon as possible.”

Sanwo-Olu said the trust fund committee would be responsible for getting the detailed cost of restructuring and rebuilding the destroyed property, identification of the state’s most critical needs, among others.

He noted that the committee would be dissolved when the bill became law, while its functions would be transferred to a newly established trust fund.

Members of the trust fund committee are Mr Yemi Cardoso, Prof. Kanyisola Ajayi, Mr Gbenga agboola, Mrs Bola Adesola, Mr Sam Egube, Jimi Hotonu, Mr Abubalar Suleiman and a member of an international donor agency.

Other committees constituted by the governor are the Business Continuity Committee, Assessment committee, Planning Committee, Execution, Measurement and Evaluation Committee, Security and Enforcement Communication and Community Engagement Committee.