Tinubu assures Abuja market fire victims of support

President Bola Tinubu has stated his administration’s support to victims of the fire incident that rocked the Old Karu market in the Federal Capital Territory in Abuja on Thursday.

The fire, which destroyed goods worth millions of naira, was put to an end by officials of the Federal Capital Territory Fire Service, Federal Fire Service and Julius Berger Fire Service.

“President Bola Tinubu receives the news of the fire incident, which affected sections of Karu Market in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), with deep sadness,” the President’s Special Adviser on Media & Publicity, Ajuri Ngelale said in a State House statement on Friday.

The statement said Tinubu “extends his heartfelt sympathies to all the traders affected by this distressing incident and assures them of his administration’s full support. The President urges caution and adherence to essential safety measures to prevent fire outbreaks and other accidents.”

The FCT Emergency Management Department, through its acting Director-General, Mrs. Florence Wenegieme, lamented the lack of access to the market, which is located behind the new market under construction.

In a statement on Friday signed by the Head of Public Affairs, Nkechi Isa, the FEMD boss said, “It was the illegal market or settlement behind the new market under construction that was engulfed by fire. We had enough firetrucks and firemen, but we could not gain access to the market, so we had to break walls to have access to the firefighting hose; that was what caused the delay in putting out the fire,” adding that “no life was lost to the fire incident; goods worth millions of naira were destroyed.”

In an interview with Channels Television in the market on Friday, a female trader stated her worry over the loss to the inferno, which, according to her, ran into millions of naira.

The trader, who was flanked by other women in the video, cried out, saying, “Everything has burnt down. I could not recover anything. This is where we feed from o. Ah, my children’s school fees are there.

“I cannot hold myself, I am in pain, I don’t know if the government can help us. My money that has gone here is over N10 million. I am tired and I don’t know where to start