Alesinloye Traders Fault Reported Figure of Fire Incident Victims
Victims of fire incident at Alesinloye Market, Ibadan, have clarified that 90 people were affected and not 500 as reported in a section of the media.
This is as the Oyo State Government has directed the victims to cooperate with the Oyo State Emergency Management Agency (Oyo SEMA) for a full enumeration and verification of the victims.
Oyo State Deputy Governor, Chief Bayo Lawal, gave this directive on when he hosted the Plastic and Cooler Sellers from Alesinloye Market, who were mostly affected by the fire incident, noting that the government could only rely on the figure from the victims, because they know one another.
The Deputy Governor asked the Oyo SEMA to embark on a full enumeration and verification of victims with a view to getting a credible figure, warning the victims to be wary of who they speak with and how they present facts so as not to confuse the system.
He reiterated that the state government would provide support to the victims while also stating that bulldozers had already been deployed to the site to clear the rubble and ensure that the place is put in order.
The deputy governor warned those playing politics with the tragic loss of Alesinloye traders to have a rethink, noting that it is unreasonable and unethical to play politics with disaster.
“The unofficial figure being bandied out is that 500 people were affected and that the shops are over 700. But you have come here to say that the people affected are about 85. We cannot allow people to just throw untrue figures about. You know yourselves, so we will only rely on the figure from you, which is verified by our people.
“So, the Oyo SEMA will set up a place in the market; you will give them the list with you and the victims will go to the Oyo SEMA one by one for recording of their phone number, shop number, etc. With that one, the government will be able to target only victims of the fire incident.”
Responding to the plea of the victims that the market should not be demolished, the Deputy Governor maintained that the matter at hand is first about addressing the aftermath of the fire incident and that other issues will be addressed accordingly.
He noted that the government would communicate with the traders in the market on further developments.
Earlier, leaders of the Plastic and Cooler Section of the Alesinloye Market countered the claim that 500 shop owners were affected by the fire outbreak.
Chairperson of the Plastic and Cooler Sellers Association in Alesinloye Market, Mrs Taiwo Lawal, who visited the Governor’s Office in the company of the immediate past chairperson of the association, Mrs Julianah Ayoola and five others, said the victims appreciated the fact that the state government was concerned about their plight.
“So, we are here to plead with our governor to keep supporting us and other traders, and to allow us to rebuild the shops by ourselves.
Today alone, we have cleared more than half of the place affected by the fire. But the government has informed us that the bulldozers were deployed to clear the rubble and put the place in order and that it would undertake the clearing.
“The Deputy Governor has also told us that the government would engage with us on the issue of redevelopment of Alesinloye Market, noting that the state government, Ibadan South LCDA, Ibadan South-West Local Government and the traders would have a meeting.”
The meeting was attended by the Commissioner for Trades and Commerce, Hon. Adeniyi Adebisi; and Director of Oyo SEMA, Mrs Ojuolape Busari.
