The Senate, on Monday, denied knowledge of the freezing of the accounts of some #EndSARS campaigners by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).

The senate said the Governor of CBN, Godwin Emefiele, never wrote to it before taking the action as they only read about it on the pages of newspapers just like other Nigerians.

Senator Opeyemi Bamidele, the senator representing Ekiti Central Federal Constituency, who is the Chairman of the Senate Committee on Judiciary, Human Rights and Legal Matters, made this revelation when the Minister of Justice and Attorney General of the Federation, Abubakar Malami, (SAN), appeared before the committee, to defend the ministry’s 2021 budget estimates.

Sen. Bamidele who spoke with journalists shortly after the presentation, said the Senate was awaiting further information on the issue of freezing the accounts of the EndSARS campaigners from apex bank as they were not aware of it and the circumstances that led to the freezing.

“We are not aware of the CBN freezing the accounts of #EndSARS campaigners. We read it in the news like everyone else. Our committee is interested in knowing what is going on in this regard. Our committee is neither in a position to either explain or defend the CBN’s action,” Bamidele said.

The Senator noted that the legislature would liaise with the executive to know what was going on and find a lasting solution to it.

“We will reach out to the executive. If it is true, we would find out what the stakeholders in charge are trying to achieve with this,” he added.

Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, says the government of President Muhammadu Buhari is very serious about creating jobs for the teeming youths of Nigeria as a way of curtailing youth restiveness.

Mohammed who spoke in Lagos on Sunday, November 8, said the Federal Government will continue to address the issue of job creation for the youths despite the economic downturn occasioned by the coronavirus pandemic.

Mohammed was in Lagos for a meeting with governors, traditional rulers and political heavyweights in the south-western parts of the country, following the recent #EndSARS protests that culminated in widespread mayhem, looting and arson.

He added that the government would continue to engage the youths and address the issue of poverty alleviation.

The Minister asserted that the government would continue to invest in the development of human capacity, with more implementation of economic policies that will engender development and building of more public infrastructure that would empower the teeming youths of the country.

The one-day meeting was attended by a Presidential delegation led by the Chief of Staff, Prof. Ibrahim Gambari.

While addressing journalists at the end of the meeting, Mohammed said:

“It is not as if the government has not been addressing the issue of unemployment. The newly launched funds by the government were actually aimed at creating job opportunities.

“What the government has done so far is to provide platforms where businesses can thrive,” he said.

The Minister also said that the purpose of the South-West meeting was to allow governors and other political leaders in the South-West to interact and find a lasting solution to the problems bedeviling the country from different fronts.

“The meeting was a peaceful meeting and it was agreed that the states and the Federal Government’s response to the initial demand of the #EndSARS protest were appropriate,” the Minister said.

Nigerian youths would do well to keep the peace, as it is in their own interest ultimately, President Muhammadu Buhari has said.

The President spoke Monday at State House, Abuja, while receiving in audience the Deputy Secretary-General of the United Nations, Amina Mohammed, Nigeria’s former Minister of Environment.

In a statement by his Special Assistant Media and Publicity, Femi Adesina, the president said, “Our own generation is on the last lap, we are exiting,” President Buhari said in response to the recent EndSARS protest, and the mayhem and destruction of public and private property that came in its wake”.

“It is in the interest of the youths to keep the peace. They want jobs, infrastructure and development. I have sent a team led by the Chief of Staff (Professor Ibrahim Gambari) to go round the country, talk to traditional rulers, who will then talk to the youths. The views of the youths have been heard,” he added.

He said that the current administration inherited severe infrastructural deficits, “and that is what we are fighting to correct. We can’t just sit, fold our hands, and do nothing. We are doing our best within the limits of resources.”

President Buhari rued the fact that COVID-19 has shrunk the global economy, noting that “this is something you can’t see, smell, or hear,” but which has wrought devastation on lives and livelihoods round the world.

On climate change, he said Nigeria was concerned about the recharge of the Lake Chad, which has great implications on security, irregular migration, and livelihoods.

The Deputy Secretary-General said she was on a courtesy call with her team to flag interest on challenges that concern the UN, particularly COVID-19, climate change, security, and humanitarian responses to the diverse challenges.