Ortom donates N50m to victims of Otukpo main market fire incident

Benue State governor, Samuel Ortom on Tuesday visited the scene of the fire incident at Otukpo in Benue State and sympathised with the traders and assured them of government assistance.

The governor who inspected the burnt section of the market  donated N50 million to the victims of the fire  incident.

He said the amount was support to cushion the effects of the destruction suffered as a result of the fire incident.

The governor said that he would set up a committee comprising of his cabinet members and the trader’s union that would liaise with the Otukpo local government council chairman to work out modalities on how the money would be shared among the victims.

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He said the gesture was to enable the victims to start life pending the outcome of the report of a committee he would constitute to inquire into the incident.

Ortom further stated that the executive committee would equally plan how the traders will be relocated from the present location to the new site that will accommodate more traders.

According to him, “The Otukpo Main Market where our traders are trading is no longer enough for them. I will mandate cabinet member to join hands with the chairman to work out things for them to move to the new site. Also, we will press on all those traders who took the government to court to withdraw all the cases. Right now the market is not enough to all those coming into the market.

“Government is quite disturbed about the spate of insecurity in Otukpo axis and zone in general.

You must join hands with the government so as to draw investment to Otukpo, we must be agents of change and volunteer information to security agencies”, he said.

Earlier, the immediate past chairman of Otukpo local government council, George Alli said the fire incident had brought untold hardship to the traders and urged the state government to assist them in rebuilding their shops and providing other relief materials to them as the cost of items lost to the inferno could not be quantified but was in millions.

He disclosed that over 315 shops were burnt but the cause of the fire could still not be ascertained as on Tuesday morning.

“We are making plans to relocate the traders to a new site. We just secured a place and we are making plans to open it up such that there will be access road.

“The State Chairman of Nigeria Institute of Architect, Arch Uloko had called to say that he will do the design of the new market free of charge as their own contribution to rebuilding the market”.

“The market has five entrances and the marketers complained that the firefighters came on time but no space to pass to put out the fire. All the five gates were locked and it was agreed that every day as the market closes you remove your fuse so there won’t be light” Alli explained.