Lagos Market Fire: “We Will Support Traders Who Lost Their Goods”- Sanwo-olu

The revelation by the governor of Lagos state, Babajied Sanwo-olu that his administration will support some traders who lost their goods during the fire incident which occurred at the Dosumu market on Tuesday must come as a cheery news to those affected.

Governor Sanwoolu said this while on a visit to the market on Thursday, saying this is the right thing to do to get the affected traders who have lost their livelihood back on their feet.

The governor however declared his government’s resolve to demolish buildings that fail integrity test in the state.

The magazine reports that the market was gutted by fire, taking down no fewer than 14 buildings and goods worth millions of naira in its wake.

While having an on-the-spot assessment of the market today, the governor stated that many residential buildings have been turned into warehouses in the market, making movement almost impossible for first responders.

He said emergency workers were prevented from getting to the scene of the fire, to do their jobs as a result of the confusion of overcrowding in the market.

Going forward, the state government would no longer accept such situation, the governor said.

Sanwo-olu said “I just finished the assessment of a very unfortunate, but preventable disaster.

“Access was denied to the first responder to the fire for a couple of hours. This fire started more than 48 hours ago and is still alive.

“At the last count, we have about 14 houses that have been affected, and more may go down after the extensive test. What I have seen here is what could have been prevented. We do not have a full report yet, so I do not want to speculate.

“From the initial report, it was gross carelessness.

“We will bring down any property that does not conform to our rules and regulations of construction.

“We cannot allow anyone to put the lives and property of others and the environment at risk.

“We will support those affected by the fire so they can get back on their feet, however,” Sanwo-olu said.