Nnewi market fire losses, harrowing, regrettable- Ex-SSG

Oseloka, the immediate past Secretary to the Anambra Government said in a statement on Sunday that it was unfortunate that the disaster occurred in the midst of economic recession. The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), reports that property and goods worth about N3 billion were lost to a midnight fire in the market. He said the disaster would have been mitigated if the government had created functional and effective fire service station at strategic public places. The former SSG sympathised with the victims and blamed the government for failing to provide such facilities. “I join those who have sympathised with the owners of the timber shades and buildings at the Nnewi Timber Market gutted by fire with resultant huge losses. “Fire incidents such as this, though not uncommon during the harmattan season, are easily avoidable if the proper and statutory safety checks and measures were in place. “It is harrowing, regrettable and most unfortunate, that our people will suffer such huge loses in this time of recession. ”Public safety and infrastructure based on best practices, must be prioritised if we must avoid costly incidents such as these. “Unfortunately, that is not yet the case, even as pretence continue that our public utilities are all operational. “We need to improve on our public safety operations, especially in terms of emergency responses to road accidents, fire and natural hazards.”