SAN FRANCISCO, October 13, (THEWILL) –Â Lagos state, the commercial capital of Nigeria, is having a huge loss financially due to the #EndSars protest in the state.
THEWILL reports that protesters have since Monday shut down major areas in the state by blocking major roads and causing heavy traffic for motorists.
The protesters, for the second day running, have shut down the Lekki Toll Gate, demanding among others, the release of all arrested members, psychological evaluation and retraining of disbanded SARS personnel and compensation for victims of police brutality.
Checks by THEWILL reveal that by that action alone, over N150m has been lost by the state from the toll gate.
Segun Fadeyi, a business analyst in Lagos, explained that while the Country may be suffering due to the international coverage of the protest, Lagos is worst hit economically because the protest seems to be going on simultaneously in various parts of the state unlike other states with single protests.
In the same vein, investors seem to be wary as the Nigerian equity market closed negative as its losing streak extended to the fourth consecutive trading days, Monday, following sell-off on some high valued stocks.
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The All-Share Index dipped 143.91 basis points or 0.27 per cent to close at 28,337.49 index points as against 28,415.31 recorded the previous trading session while market capitalisation of equities depreciated by N41bn from N14.85tn the previous day to N14.81tn as market sentiment remained on the negative territory.
THEWILL also gathered that many companies have advised workers to stay at home and observe events before resuming to work.
This is because workers have suffered untold hardship as major roads including the International Airport road, Lagos-Ibadan expressway, Ikorodu road among were blocked.
Although, the demands of protesters seem to have been met, there are doubts on the sincerity of the government to actualise its promises to the protesters.
