The Kwara State Government has created a N500 million recovery fund for businesses that were looted and whose properties were vandalized by hoodlums and arsonists who hijacked the #EndSARS protest.
The Governor of Kwara State, Abdulrahman Abdulrazaq, disclosed this while commiserating with proprietors whose businesses were affected, in a visit to the Kwara Mall and Agro Mall.
Abdulrasaq denounced the actions of the hoodlums describing the perpetrators as mindless. The looting of valuable items happened on Friday in the state capital. He also said that the destructive act will ground a lot of businesses in the state which will cause a massive loss of jobs and a spike in the poverty rate.
While he commiserated with affected business owners, the governor announced the N500 million SME recovery fund to assist them as part of the administration’s efforts to bring them back on their feet following the incident.
Abdulrasaq said, “It is a time for all hands to be on deck. It is not just Kwara they wanted to burn down. They wanted to burn the whole country down. I urge all of us to stand up and resist that,” he said.
“While the hoodlums were looting (on Friday), I was holding a meeting with executives and members of the National Association of Kwara State Students and National Association of Nigeria Students, Kwara axis. It shows students and youths were not part of the looting. Those involved were just hoodlums and thieves.”
“We are therefore not going to leave the business owners like that. We are setting up a N500m fund for those that were affected to access. The application form is live and active on the State Government’s website and can now be filled by interested parties. We are going to get them back as soon as possible.”
The fund will be accessible to affected businesses only as it is expected it will help them cushion the effects of the lootings and spate of vandalism.
