Just In: Ortom Visit Burnt Down Makurdi Modern Market

Benue State Governor, Samuel Ortom, has visited the site of the Makurdi modern market that was gutted by fire on Tuesday.

Naija News learnt that the Governor was sad on citing the magnitude of damage caused by the inferno and sympathised with the traders over their losses.  The Governor who also offered N50 million to victims of the fire incident said that the gesture was to help them to “restart something”.

Billions of naira have been lost and traders have been reduced to zero levels. It is very painful,” Ortom told the traders.

He also regretted the frequent fire outbreaks at the market as well as the Gboko and Wadata markets, declaring the Tuesday disaster as “one incident too many”.“The government will have to take proactive steps to end the ugly trend. We understand that there are issues between the market and the host community.

We will set up a Commission of Inquiry to investigate the immediate cause of the fire. If there are technical or man-made issues, we will find out and look at how the market can be resuscitated to benefit Benue people.”

The governor also called for a quick resolution of lingering Union issues that were affecting the smooth operation of the market, urging leaders to “talk with each other”.