Ipata Market Inferno: Kwara Govt Commiserates with Council and Traders

The Kwara State Government has Commiserated with Ilorin East Local Government and Ipata Market traders over the fire incident that gutted a section of the market recently.

The Commissioner for Local Government, Chieftaincy Affairs and Community Development, Arc. Aliyu Muhammad Saifuddeen made the commiseration on behalf of the state government, when he visited the scene of the fire incident  to assess the extent of the damage.

The Commissioner, who was accompanied by the Permanent Secretary, Alhaji Abdulrasak Alabere and other top officials of the Ministry, described the inferno as rather unfortunate.

According to him, the ugly fire incident came at a time when the traders were adjusting to the harsh economic situation in the Country.

Arc. Saifuddeen later directed the Council to avail his office of a comprehensive report through the affected traders with a view to ascertaining the level of the loss.

The Commissioner, however, reiterated the commitment of the present administration to the yearnings of the people which can be attested to by the visit in less than 24 hours notification of the incident.

He therefore appealed to the traders to ensure prompt remittance of their dues to the appropriate quarters which would  assist in the execution of more developmental projects and the provision of other social amenities at the grassroots. 

Earlier, the Director of Personnel Management (DPM) of the Local Government, Mr. Oyebanji Gabriel thanked the Commissioner for the timely visit and for identifying with the people  despite the short notice.

The DPM said he was very disturbed when he visited the scene of the incident but however thanked God that no life was lost.

Mr. Gabriel promised that a monitoring team would be put in place by the Council in order to curtail future occurrence.

In their responses, the Babaloja and Iyaloja of the market, Alhaji Dauda Omolabi and Hajia Abdulrasheed Balkis thanked the Commissioner for the visit.

They commended the prompt intervention of the men of the Fire Service which helped to curtail the inferno from extending to other sections of the market. 

They pleaded for assistance from both the State and Local Government Council for the reconstruction of the burnt shops. 

Oba Azeez,

Press Secretary, Ministry of Local Government, Chieftaincy Affairs and Community Development.