Dosunmu fire: We will not condone “reckless behaviour” in our markets- Sanwo-Olu
By Adeola Ogunrinde
Lagos State Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu, on Friday, said his administration would not condone reckless behaviour in markets across the State.
Sanwo-Olu expressed his disappointment on the “reckless handling of flammable materials” in the market, saying the firefighters arrived at the fire scene on time.
He made these remarks while receiving the leadership of the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) led by its newly appointed Director-General, Mrs. Zubaida Umar.
Sanwo-Olu, who received the NEMA team at the State House in Marina, conveyed his appreciation to the agency’s boss for prompt deployment of first responders from NEMA to join the State’s emergency response team in combating the inferno minutes after the alert was sent out.
The Governor, who noted that 120 tanks of water were used up before the inferno was brought under control, commended the first responders from both the State and federal levels for their round-the-clock action to salvage the situation and stop the spread of the fire.
He said: “Before the unfortunate fire incident, we had conducted sensitisation and held extensive advocacy for traders on the need to refrain from acts that could potentially endanger their lives and their trading environment. We are utterly disappointed because we believe the incident could be avoided. Some traders in the market were completely reckless and inconsiderate.
“There have been disagreements among the traders as the cause of the fire, with some of them linking it to sabotage and others saying leadership tussle. But that did not take away the fact that they were completely irresponsible in endangering their assets and those of others in the market. Our response to this laxity will be very decisive in the coming days and we will ensure the reckless tendency of the traders is curtailed.”
Mrs. Umar said the visit was to show solidarity with the State Government and to show support to the first responders who had remained in the scene since the incident started.
She pledged that NEMA would raise the level of its awareness and sensitisation on power utilisation in closely built markets to minimise risk of fire and mitigate emergency situations.
