Ibadan Fire Incident: Traders Count Losses As Govt. Assures Quick Intervention
One of the victims, Mrs. Rukayat Abdullateef, said the fire consumed two shops with over N50 million worth of goods.
Traders who lost their property to the fire incident that occurred at the popular Aleshiloye market in Ibadan, Oyo State of Nigeria have continued to express their sadness and renew their calls for assistance from the state government and philanthropists in the society.
The fire incident, which broke out at the midnight on Tuesday, left trails of losses, wailing and anguish as many traders lost multiple shops to the inferno.
One of the victims, Mrs. Rukayat Abdullateef, said the fire consumed two shops with over N50 million worth of goods.
Mrs. Abdullateef narrated that she bought about N5.4 million worth of goods in her two shops last Thursday, and have some goods left there before restocking.
She added that she borrowed money to buy the goods in those shops, but didn’t know where to start afresh.
Another victim, Mrs. Toyeebat Bello, said the fire incident affected her 10 shops with goods worth over N70 million destroyed.
She narrated how she got the information about the fire last Tuesday night but couldn’t come down at that time but on getting to the market, she discovered that all her 10 shops were affected.
Also, a member of the market’s task force and one of the victims of the inferno, Mr. Sodiq Oloriade, said he lost all his goods to the fire.
He stressed that the destruction may not have been as massive had the state fire station in the market worked.
Meanwhile, Oyo State Fire Service General Manager, Mr. Yemi Akinyinka has hinted that men of the agency are still working at the popular Aleshinloye market, Ibadan which was gutted by fire last Tuesday where property worth millions of naira were destroyed.
Mr. Akinyinka who made this known on Wednesday in a statement notes that the incident was very massive but appreciates the management of SUMAL and SWEETCO Companies for releasing their truck and men to the scene in a bid to quench the fire.
In a swift response to the incident, the state government has assured shop owners who lost their wares and property to the fire incident of necessary intervention and support to cushion the effect of their losses and bring back normalcy into the market.
The state Deputy Governor, Bayo Lawal, during an assessment visit to the scene, described the incident as unfortunate, and ordered an immediate preliminary investigation into the incidence to enable the government to take decisions in favour of the victims.
He implored the leadership of the market to quickly present their reports, taking into stock the shops and wares damaged by the inferno, for the state government to expedite measures of intervention.
Mr. Lawal however assured that the state government through the state emergency management agency, OYSEMA and NEMA would made palliatives available for them.
