The Anambra State Governor Willie Obiano has commiserated with victims of the Ihiala market fire incident after the fire destroyed major parts of the market.
In a statement issued by the Commissioner for Information and Public Enlightenment, Mr. C. Don Adinuba, he regretted that “a good number of both the indigenes of the town and people from elsewhere, including outside the state, have lost their means of livelihood”.
He noted that the Nkwogbe market, built in the 1950s, is no longer adequate to meet the challenges of these modern times. Therefore, bad market conditions could make it impossible for the fire service men to promptly respond in such cases as few accessible roads as well as conversion of market area into shops may hinder them from carrying out their duties promptly.
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He said; “A situation where the few available access roads in the market are converted to shops which makes it difficult for fire trucks to move into the market to extinguish fire is unacceptable”, he declared. Obiano regretted that, “This is the wrong time for such a disaster to occur, especially given the prevailing economic condition in the country”.
However, he announced that the state government would work with the Ihiala Progress Union, the Igwe in Council, the Ihiala Local Government, prominent people from the town and other stakeholders like the traders’ union and the Anambra State Ministry of Trade and Commerce to provide a befitting market.
