Gov. Babajide Sanwo-Olu’s 24-hour curfew over relentless # EndSARS protests has been described as hostile and ill-advised by the Lagos State chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party ( PDP).
In a statement in Lagos on Tuesday by its publicity secretary, Mr Taofik Gani, the PDP said the decision of Sanwo-Olu could aggravate the protestors’ agitations.
“In the peaceful protests against police brutality and other government-induced vices in the state, the PDP believes that the decision is aggressive, ill-advised and able to inflame the already compressed” beast.
For any degeneration into maiming, killing and oppressive detention, the governor must therefore take responsibility.
Again, the governor has demonstrated that he is copying and pasting in governance, “Gani said.”
The peculiarities of the problems of unrest in the state, according to him, are such that the governor only needs to act immediately rather than declare a curfew, evidently because one or two governors have done the same.
The spokesman said Sanwo-Olu should have gone public to announce welfare assistance for the police command officers and to disclose the Lagos State Security Trust Funds (LSSTF) account.
He said the governor should stop the collection of tolls in the state, declare a reduction in tuition fees by at least 50 percent in all state government colleges, and scrap or reduce Alpha Beta fees by at least 50 percent.
Gani added that Sanwo-Olu should include at least a 40 percent discount on Lagos housing, reduce the cost of all state-owned transportation within the state by at least 50 percent, and reduce its emoluments and, to name a few, that of lawmakers.
Gani said, “If Gov. Sanwo-Olu does this in 48 hours, these demonstrators will calm down.”
Nigeria’s News Agency reports that on Tuesday, the Lagos State Government placed a 24-hour curfew on all parts of the state from 4 pm on Tuesday, as the # EndSARS peaceful protest turned violent.
During a media briefing at Lagos House, Marina, the Governor, Mr Babajide Sanwo-Olu, said that no one, except critical service providers and first responders, should be found on the streets.
On Monday, the state government declared the closure of schools for the safety of pupils and teachers as the # EndSARS unrest escalated.
