Plateau State Governor Simon Lalong has said that public and private properties worth ₦75 billion were lost to the recent #EndSARS protests across the state.
The governor disclosed this on Friday at an interactive session with representatives of youths in the state, held at the Government House.
He said that “The level of destruction and carnage is unbelievable and unacceptable. We are still trying to carry out a comprehensive evaluation of the total cost of the damage.
‘However, the preliminary report by a team of experts I constituted has estimated the losses to be put at about N75 billion for now.’
Lalong also revealed that more than 32 public and private property were affected in the looting spree.
According to him, the losses would impede development projects in the state, which he said had yet to recover from the economic impacts of COVID-19 pandemic.
The governor, however, urged the youth to be patient, as their challenges cannot be resolved overnight.
‘My dear youths, as a father and your governor, I feel your pain. My heart goes out to all our youth for the many challenges they face daily due to lack of opportunities for jobs and better conditions to achieve their dreams.
‘This is a burden that has accumulated over time which our administration is working hard to address.’
‘You would agree with me that the enormity of the challenges we face cannot be resolved overnight or with a wave of the hand. It is a process which all of us must collectively work together to achieve,’ he said.
AFRICA TODAY NEWS, NEW YORK