Property and commodities, mainly fish, were late Tuesday destroyed in an inferno that once again swept through a part of the popular Ogbe-Ijoh Market in Warri South council area of Delta state.
Tuesday night’s incident, which came barely a year after a similar incident destroyed shops and wares in the market, destroyed some 500 shops.
Meanwhile, the Eric Omare-led faction of the Ijaw Youth Council (IYC) has once again urged the Delta state government to quickly complete the construction of the ultramodern Ogbe-Ijoh Market, to finally put stop to the perennial fire incident.
Though the real cause of the fire could not be ascertained immediately, some victims of the incident who spoke to journalists on the site of the ruins left of the market traced it to a electricity power surge, while some others accused the vigilance team paid to watch over the market of complicity.
The situation was further compounded for the grieving victims when urchins from the area stormed the market to and started looting the shops, defying the raging inferno.
Commenting on the incident, leader of Ogbe-Ijoh Market Traders Women Union, Mrs Queen Ajemitolu, in pidgin said “I don tire for this market wey dey burn every time.
“Na fish we dey sell here, because of no proper care, and temporary structure so the time people dey dry fish, or if NEPA light come, e dey cause fire,” she lamented.
Speaking during his visit to the scene of the incident, the IYC President, Eric Omare, sympathized with traders over the unfortunate incident and bemoaned the persistent outbreak of fire in the Ogbe-Ijoh market while calling on Governor Ifeany Okowa to as a matter of urgency commence the construction of the market.
Source:The Nation
