Fire has gutted the Fancy Section of famous Aleshinloye Internattional Market in Ibadan late on Friday, with goods worth millions of naira lost to the inferno.
According to the Chairman of the traders’ association, Mr. Rahman Olabamji, who addressed journalists in Ibadan, the fire began late on Friday after the close of activities.
“The power voltage supplied by Electricity Distribution Company for this area was too high and it was the major cause of the fire. It began after 8pm on Friday night after we had all left the market. By the time we were called, it had spread to several other parts of the market. Our section was badly affected as no shop was spared by the fire,” he said.
“We have a fire station in the market but when the rescue vehicle arrived, there was little water in its tank. We called for reimbursement from other sources but it was too late. It was eventually put out but what was achieved was just to prevent other sections of the market from being consumed. No life was lost in the fire but the fire burnt everything we had in the shops. We all lost everything we had and starting all over will be difficult considering the fact that we trade with loans from banks,” Olabamiji said.
He said Governor Ajimobi visited the scene around 1:30am with a promise to assist the victims.
The chairman who was unhappy at the development disclosed that they were already compiling the lists of those affected by the disaster for onward submission to the government on tomorrow, as directed by the governor.
