Nigeria’s Vice President Yemi Osinbajo on Monday presided over an emergency virtual meeting of the National Economic Council (NEC).
The meeting is coming as angry citizens continue to vandalise and loot warehouses where COVID-19 palliatives are stored across the country.
Palliative warehouses located in Gwagwalada and Jabi in Abuja and others in Kaduna were on Monday looted by hoodlums and vandals who have infiltrated the ranks of the EndSARS protesters.
The hoodlums are now taking advantage of the otherwise peaceful protests, even as helpless and overwhelmed security officials look on.
READ ALSO: #ENDSARS: Shippers’ Council requests for demurrage waiver over business disruption at port
The details of the NEC meeting were not made public at the time of filing this reports, but BusinessDay gathered that the meeting is not unconnected with “plans to ease tensions across the country”.
Abdulrazaque Bello-Barkindo, Head, Media and Public Affairs, Nigeria Governors’ Forum, told BusinessDay that “NGF had expressed regrets about the loss of lives and property occasioned by the violent protests that erupted, and calls for calm”.
He disclosed that the Nigeria Governors’ Forum (NGF) had held several meetings to address the underlying concerns and that members have aligned themselves with the call for justice leading to the setting up of judicial panels in the states of the federation against police brutality.
“The governors have also pleaded with members of the public to desist from spreading rumours which is further creating panic and stampede. Some of the properties stolen and vandalised include palliatives set aside for vulnerable members of society,” Bello-Barkindo said.
“So, the meeting is to ensure that peace is restored across the country as soon as possible, so that the crises are not allowed to escalate further. The State Governors are doing their very best under the circumstances to ameliorate the needs of the teeming population.
“The Nigeria Governors’ Forum stands for justice, improved governance and a progressive Nigeria,” he said.
