Kwara State Governor, AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq, has announced a N500m fund to assist private business owners whose facilities were looted by hoodlums in Ilorin last Friday.
According to a statement by Chief Press Secretary to the Governor, Rafiu Ajakaye, AbdulRazaq also condemned the mindless looting of people’s businesses, insisting that there could be no justification for such criminal behaviour during an inspection of some of the looted shopping malls on Saturday.
Some of the private enterprises affected are Shoprite and Femtech, among others, while the Ilorin Airport’s cargo terminal and agro mall warehouses, where the government stored COVID-19 palliatives were also affected.
The governor, who commiserated with owners of all the affected businesses, said the special fund was part of his administration’s efforts to bring them back on their feet following the incident.
“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,” he said.
The Nigeria Union of Journalists, the National Association of League of Veteran Journalists and the Nigerian Institute of Public Relations have condemned the invasion of public and private facilities and businesses and looting of food items and electronics appliances in Ilorin.
The Kwara State Working Committee of the NUJ in a statement said that it was disturbed by the news of an attack on a private newspaper in the state, the National Pilot, on Asa Dam Road, Ilorin on Friday.
The state chapter of the NIPR also expressed displeasure over the descent of the peaceful protests to anarchy, arson, bloodshed and looting.
Also, the state council of NALVEJ decried the looting of both public and private property in Ilorin by some miscreants, especially the attack on the National Pilot.
