Lagos State Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu chaired the Executive Council Meeting on Monday as full government activities resumed after four days of the 10-day #EndBadGovernanceInNigeria protests across Nigeria.
President Bola Tinubu had urged protesters to cease demonstrations and engage in dialogue in a broadcast on Sunday. In response, Governor Sanwo-Olu praised the Lagos protesters for ending their actions in line with the President’s appeal.
Speaking to journalists at the Lagos House in Ikeja, Commissioner for Information and Strategy Gbenga Omotoso confirmed that Lagos is currently peaceful and that government operations had fully resumed.
“Lagos is peaceful, and that is what Lagosians want,” Omotoso said. “The Governor has resumed the business of the state, and government workers are back at their desks. Members of the public are returning to engage with government services”.
Omotoso emphasized Lagos’s role as Nigeria’s commercial hub and expressed gratitude to the protesters for their contribution to the city’s stability. “Lagosians have chosen peace and rejected chaos,” he added.
He also reported that since the state government issued three contact numbers for dialogue, thousands of calls have been received from individuals and groups seeking to engage with the government.
Check on major markets across the state and the state secretariat confirmed the position of the commissioner on the state of things in the state.
Nigerians took to the streets last Thursday to protest the rising cost of living and bad governance. In some states, particularly in Northern Nigeria, the protests have been marred by violence, looting, and destruction of public facilities. Several protesters have also been killed.
