Yinka Adeniran
Oyo State Governor Seyi Makinde said on Thursday that the establishment of a special purse called the ‘State Disaster Endowment Fund’ is imperative to provide a palliative for victims of disasters.
The governor gave the hint when he visited Lebanon, Dugbe area of Ibadan, scene of Wednesday’s fire where belongings worth millions of naira were destroyed.
He said the victims of the recent fire disaster, just like others before, could have been given immediate palliatives if such an endowment was in existence.
Makinde, who commiserated with the victims, lamented that it was unfortunate that such ugly incident occurred this time when people were battling the socio-economic impact of COVID-19 pandemic.
He assured the victims that the government would assist them “despite the challenges it is facing.”
The Caretaker Chairman of Ibadan Northwest Local Government, Mr. Rahman Adepoju, who led Governor Makinde during the visit, said that more than 22 shops stocked with goods worth millions of naira were destroyed in the inferno.
One of the victims, Mr. Dapo Davis, appealed to the federal and state governments as well as individuals to assist them.
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The Southwest zonal coordinator of the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), Mr. Slaku Lugard, said the agency had sent its reports in respect of the fire disaster to its headquarters in Abuja.
The fire, which started around 1:30pm, razed a storey building and a bungalow where many shops were located. About 22 shops were affected.
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