#ENDSARS: 1% VAT compensation for states generates uproar in Senate
…as 200 inmates on death row escape in Edo - senator
Ethnic sentiments and interests dominated the debate on compensation for states affected by violence that erupted during the ENDSARS protests at the Senate on Tuesday.
Senator Biodun Olujimi (Ekiti South) had brought a motion under Urgent Matter of National Importance on the need for the Federal Government to assist Lagos State government in rebuilding its infrastructure. In a similar motion, Senator Gershom Bassey (Cross River South), called on the National Assembly to compensate Cross River based on level of destruction that took place in Calabar, the state capital. Olujimi noted that on October 20, several media accounts revealed that peaceful protesters were allegedly shot at by the Nigerian military at the Lekki Tollgate.
She lamented that private and public property worth over N1 trillion were looted and destroyed when hoodlums hijacked the peaceful EndSARS protests in Lagos, as the epicenter of the protests. After moving their motions, Senator Sani Musa ( Niger East) insisted that the compensation should be extended to states in the North suffering from banditry and Boko Haram crises.
“Any intervention by the government should be holistic and not restricted to Lagos State or Calabar,” he said.
But opposing the motion, Senator Abdullahi Adamu ( Nasarawa West) said the Senate should not consider the motion because it would be subjudice to the panels and tribunals set up by various states.
He said, “let us wait for the outcome of these judicial panels. I will therefore appeal that we wait for the decisions of the panels. If the outcome is not acceptable by a lot of Nigerians, then we will come here and take a position as legislators.”
However, Senator Ike Ekweremadu (Enugu West) noted that the nation had not done enough to protect the interest of the youth.
Ekweremadu said that the Federal Government must do more to create jobs for the youth in order to prevent a repeat of the ENDSARS protests. Stating that security agencies were overstretched, the former Deputy Senate President said it was time to decentralise the Police and employ more youth into the service. He said, “This calls to mind the need for state police to enable states properly handle security situations in their domains. “Some of the youths who were engaged in the ENDSARS protests could have been readily absorbed by state police structures in the affected areas. Senator Mathew Urhoghide (Edo South) while lamenting the tension that pervaded the atmosphere during the violence, said about 2000 inmates were set free by the hoodlums that hijacked the protest. Among them, he said, were 200 inmates on death row. He added, “Arms and ammunition were looted with no recovery made. The government should take proactive steps to employ the youth.”