The Speaker of the House of Representatives, Rep. Femi Gbajabiamila, has said that the House is ready to support the interventions of the Federal Government to rebuild Lagos and other states worst hit by the recent EndSars protests.
Gbajabiamila also tasked Lagosians to put heads and resources together to rebuild the state in view of the destruction of properties worth billions of naira in the state.
Speaking at the inauguration of the Board of Trustees of the Rebuild Lagos Trust Fund on Monday in Lagos, Gbajabiamila said he was heartbroken after going round the state for an on-the-spot assessment of the devastation that followed the unrest.
He said it is time for Lagosians to put aside partisan politics and stand up to rebuild the state, saying “I believe more than ever before that saying, Eko o ni baje, and the quick reply is, O baje ti’.
“I believe in my heart, that this saying can never be truer than now, that Eko o ni baje, o de baje ti. (Never will Lagos go bad, never).
“We will rebuild this state with everything that we need, with all the tools at our disposal, we will rebuild Lagos. This is the time to prove it, that Eko o ni baje,” he said.
He said in rebuilding the state, there should be a public-private partnership, which he said would be one of the best ways to face the task.
“I think it goes beyond budget or appropriation. It will call for a special intervention from the Federal Government to make sure that monies are devoted, not just to Lagos, although Lagos bears the major devastation.
“So it’s going to be panoramic; it’s going to be for all the states, but we all know that Lagos bears the brunt of the devastation.
Gbajabiamila said in working for Nigerians, the 9th House would try as much as it could to abide by its slogan, which is ‘Nation Building: A Joint Task.
“So we will pull all our friends and colleagues and talk to them that we don’t look at this from a state or political prism but a nationalistic point of view and make sure that what needs to be done would be done.
“We will remain our brother’s keepers. That’s what we do in the National Assembly, be our brother’s keepers, and that’s what we will do for Lagos State and the rest of the country.”
Signed:
Lanre Lasisi, Special Adviser on Media and Publicity to the Speaker, House of kRepresentatives, Federal Republic of Nigeria.
