Governor Abdullahi Sule of Nasarawa State has doled out N60m as financial assistance to traders and marketers affected by the December 5th fire incidence at the Lafia modern market.
Governor Sule announced the largess during a meeting with the committee set up to investigate the extent of damage caused by the December 5th fire incidence, which held at the Government House on Thursday.
While excusing the delay in reaching out to the victims of the inferno, the Governor said the money, comprising of N55m for those directly affected by the fire and N5m for the Nasarawa State Traders and Marketers Association (NSTMA), is meant to serve as capital to enable those who lost their shops to continue with their businesses.
He said the intervention became necessary considering the damages caused by the fire outbreak and especially the prevailing economic hardship being experienced across the country.
Governor Sule particularly called on the officials of the NSTMA not to take anything out of the money meant for the victims but to ensure the money goes to those directly affected by the fire incidence.
He emphasized that his administration is taking measures to ensure that fire incidences are reduced drastically across major markets in the state.
“Today is the opportunity for us the state to come forward and make our own contributions to what has happened. But I am more interested in knowing and arresting the causes of these fire incidents. We just had one in Karu, and we are also addressing it. In Masaka, to be precise. We used to have these incidences in Keffi. However, we have been able to take some kinds of measures, and now we are not having such issues in Keffi any longer. We are trying to do our best to replicate the measures in all our major markets prone to fire outbreaks,” he stated.
He added that his administration is intervening in order to give a lifeline to the victims of the fire outbreak who may have lost their means of livelihoods.
Governor Sule used the opportunity to appreciate spirited individuals from the state who identified with the victims of the fire through the donations of money amounting to N18m, which he said is being utilized by the NSTMA to rebuild the shops destroyed during the inferno.
“I was also informed that there were also some spirited individuals of Nasarawa State who have come forward to make donations. I was informed that all the donations promised were made. I was informed further that they are using the resources to rebuild some of the shops that have been damaged. Let me take the opportunity to thank the various individuals in the state who made the donations,” he said.
He equally appreciated the State Deputy Governor, Dr. Emmanuel Akabe, for ensuring that the committee concluded its exercise as of when due, the Commissioner, Trade, Industry and Investment, Hon. Abubakar Imam Zanwa, DG, Nasarawa State Market Bureau, Yakubu Ahmed, as well as the officials of NSTMA, for ensuring that the exercise was done conclusively.
In an opening remarks, Nasarawa State Commissioner for Trade, Industry and Investment, Hon. Abubakar Imam Zanwa, commended Governor Sule for the promptness and responsiveness immediately after the fire outbreak at the Lafia modern market.
“Your Excellency will also recall that because of your promptness and concern for the welfare of the people of Nasarawa State, as well as the wellbeing of the entire people of Nasarawa State, on the 6th of December you came to the market to commiserate, sympathize and see what actually happened in the market. You have directed that we liaise with the Market Management Bureau, as well as the leadership of the marketers association in order to determine those who were actually affected, the number of shops destroyed, as well as what was lost in the market as a result of the fire incidence,” he said.
Hon. Zanwa disclosed that the investigative committee set up by the state government discovered that in all, 29 shops were affected by the recent fire incidence, with 24 completely razed down.
“That assignment has been carried out, and we have been able to determine 29 shops that got burnt, amongst which 24 were completely destroyed by the fire, while 5 were partially affected,” he said.
The Commissioner further disclosed that the committee made two recommendations bothering on the government to intervene through the disbursement of either N39m or N49m as the case may be, towards assisting those affected by the fire.
In a vote of thanks, president, Nasarawa State Traders and Marketers Association (NSTMA), Alhaji Musa Aliyu-Turaki, appreciated Governor Sule for coming to the rescue of members of his association that were affected by the recent fire incidence at the Lafia modern market.
Aliyu-Turaki assured the Governor that officials of the NSTMA will carry along all those affected by the fire towards making sure that every one gets what’s due to them.
He disclosed that other spirited individuals from across the state also donated various sums of money as relief to members of the NSTMA, particularly those affected by the recent incidence, amounting to N18m.
The NSTMA president added that, as part of the open door policy of his administration, it was collectively resolved to channel the N18m towards rebuilding the shops damaged by the inferno.
“We want to show our gratitude and appreciation. We want to show special appreciation over the gesture by the State Government to reach out to those affected by the inferno. I want to assure the Governor that whatever decision we take as officials of this association, starting from the activities of this committee, we are doing everything in the open,” Aliyu-Turaki said.
It would be recalled that a fire incidence gutted parts of the Lafia modern market on December 5th, leading to the loss of goods worth millions of naira.
