President Muhammadu Buhari says he told Babajide Sanwo-Olu, governor of Lagos, to tell residents of the state to “walk” after buses were burnt during the #EndSARS protest.
In October 2020, demonstrations against police brutality were hijacked, leading to razing of vehicles and buildings across the country. Several vehicles under the Bus Rapid Transport (BRT) scheme in Lagos were also burnt.
Following the incident, Sanwo-Olu had paid a visit to Buhari with a photo album of the destruction recorded in the state during the protests.
Speaking in an interview with the Nigerian Television Authority (NTA) on Friday, Buhari said he told the Lagos governor that the federal government didn’t have the funds to replace the burnt buses.
“Look at the #EndSARS incident in Lagos. The previous governor of Lagos state bought 200 buses to complement the transportation in Lagos. And he built a complex. But they went and burnt them,” Buhari said.
“The present governor made an album and came to see me. I said ‘Thank you very much’. I took the album, put it in my archives and I told him to tell the Lagosians to walk, because we don’t have the money.
“After an administration bought over 200 buses, for some people to come and burn it? So, let them walk.”