Governor Seyi Makinde of Oyo State, has commiserated with traders, who lost properties to a fire outbreak, which destroyed shops and goods at the popular Aleshinloye Market in Ibadan, in the early hours of Wednesday.
The governor, who was represented by the Deputy Governor, Barr. Abdulraheem Bayo Lawal, expressed the government’s sympathy to the victims of the fire outbreak during an on-the-spot assessment of the incident.
The governor said the government would assess the level of damage and provide immediate support to victims once it gets a full report of the incident.
He directed the Ibadan South-West Local Government and the LCDA to ensure that adequate security is put in place at the market and to prepare a comprehensive report on the cause of the fire, just as he called on the market leaders to enumerate the number of shops affected by the incident.
He said: “On behalf of His Excellency, Governor Seyi Makinde, I have come here today to commiserate with you over the sad incident. We thank God that no life was lost.
“This is a big and popular market. It is so painful. Please, rest assured that the government will do the needful in terms of immediate support. It is our prayer that such will not happen again.
“This fire incident is sad, because this market has been in existence for quite some time and our men and women have been plying their trades peacefully here.
“As the government, we have come to empathise and to assess the level of damage that has been done as a result of the inferno.
“We have come and seen and we have also met with market men and women. The fire was aggravated because of the kind of trade (plastic business). So, you can expect that it would spread like a wildfire. Nevertheless, we thank God Almighty that no life was lost.
“As a government, we will do the needful in terms of immediate support through the Oyo State Emergency Management Agency (Oyo SEMA). We will also work with the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) as well as public-spirited people to give immediate support to the victims of this incident.
“We will be waiting for a comprehensive report on the cause of the fire and the level of losses. This is a market that is central to commercial activities in Oyo State. People come all the way from Benin Republic, Ivory Coast and Niger Republic to trade here. So, the state government will do something.”
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