Shettima leads Fed Govt’s team to Kano over Singer Market fire
•Speaker Abbas, Barau, Humanitarian Minister, NEMA DG in delegation•VP to convey Tinubu’s condolences, pledge financial support to victims•Southern Governors’ Forum commiserates with Kano govt, victims Vice President Kashim Shettima will
•Speaker Abbas, Barau, Humanitarian Minister, NEMA DG in delegation
•VP to convey Tinubu’s condolences, pledge financial support to victims
•Southern Governors’ Forum commiserates with Kano govt, victims
- Barau visits market, donates N100m to victims
Vice President Kashim Shettima will today lead a high-powered Federal Government’s delegation to Kano to sympathise with victims of the Singer Market fire disaster and assure them of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s support.
The delegation, scheduled to depart Abuja, will convey the President’s condolences to traders who lost billions of naira in the weekend inferno that engulfed the market, and described as Nigeria’s largest food market, where goods worth over N5billion were burnt.
According to a statement by Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy Bayo Onanuga, the delegation will also pledge financial assistance on behalf of the Federal Government to help victims recover from the losses and support Kano State in facilitating the quick reopening of the market.
Advertisement
300x250
Members of the delegation include Speaker of the House of Representatives, Tajudeen Abbas; Deputy Senate President, Senator Barau Jibrin; Senator Kawu Ismaila; and Chairman, House of Representatives Appropriation Committee, Abubakar Kabir Bichi.
Also on the delegation are the Minister of Humanitarian Affairs, Dr Bernard M. Doro, and Director-General, National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), Mrs Zubaida Umar.
President Tinubu had earlier spoken by telephone with Governor Abba Kabir Yusuf to obtain a situation report and to commiserate with the traders and the people of Kano State.
The fire, which started on Saturday evening and raged into yesterday morning, caused extensive damage and came barely two weeks after a previous incident destroyed dozens of shops and property at the same market.
The President expressed alarm over the recurrence and directed a comprehensive investigation into the causes of the market fires, which, according to him, often leave traders in despair.
Barau yesterday visited the market.
Barau, who was received by the Chairman, Alhaji Junaidu Zakari, alongside thousands of affected traders, donated N100million to the victims to cushion the effects of the inferno.
Advertisement
300x250
Read Also: Nigeria reaffirms commitment to global fight against hunger
Addressing the traders, the Deputy Senate President expressed sorrow over the incident, saying it affects not only the traders but the entire people of Kano and the nation at large.
The Chairman, Southern Governors’ Forum and Governor of Ogun State, Dapo Abiodun, yesterday commiserated with the government and people of Kano over the fire.
In a statement in Abeokuta, the Ogun State capital, Abiodun described the incident as one of the most unfortunate tragedies in the history of the market. He sympathised with traders who lost valuable goods and properties, urging them not to lose hope, assuring that the Kano State government would support the affected victims.
According to him, the destruction of four residential buildings housing small-scale businesses, alongside the loss of equipment, merchandise, and other valuables, was a heavy blow to the livelihoods of many families.
Advertisement
300x250
The Ogun State governor also called on market authorities and relevant local government officials to implement measures to prevent future occurrences.
He said: “On behalf of my colleagues in the Southern Governors’ Forum, I commiserate with the Kano State Government and the traders affected by this unfortunate incident.
“This fire outbreak has caused tremendous damage, but I urge those affected not to despair.
“The Kano State Government, under the leadership of Abba Kabir Yusuf, is doing everything humanly possible to bring the situation under control and assist the victims.”
