Kwara State Government has set-up N500 million recovery fund for businesses whose properties were looted and vandalized in the state by hoodlums who seized the #EndSARS protests to wreak havoc on private and public properties.
This was disclosed by Abdulrahman Abdulrazaq, the Governor of Kwara State while commiserating with owners of all the businesses affected, in a visit to the Kwara Mall and Agro Mall. After the visit, he shared a tweet on his official Twitter handle to back the claim.
Today I visited the sites of some of the businesses that were looted by hoodlums. What I saw was disheartening. We will help the owners of these businesses get back on their feet. We’ve set up a N500m fund that they can apply for by clicking https://t.co/sjzIntIC6E pic.twitter.com/9WGpR9l7UL
— Abdulrahman Abdulrazaq (@RealAARahman) October 24, 2020
Abdulrazaq condemned the actions of the hoodlums as mindless, as the hoodlums looted valuable items of businesses in the state capital on Friday. He reiterated that the mindless looting by people may bring businesses to their knees, and cause massive loss of jobs and a surge in the poverty rate.
The Governor, however, commiserated with owners of all the businesses affected and 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.
What they are saying
Governor Abdulrahman Abdulrazaq 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.”
What to expect
The N500 million SME recovery fund set-up by the Kwara State Government can be accessed only by businesses that were victims of the recent looting that happened in major commercial areas in the state. This fund is expected to help the businesses ward-off the impact of the destruction, and get them back on their feet towards the path of growth and expansion.