The Oyo state government has reaffirmed its commitment to lifting residents out of poverty and fostering prosperity by providing welfare support and economic empowerment initiatives.
Commissioner for Women Affairs and Social Inclusion, Mrs. Toyin Balogun, made this known over the weekend during the launch of a N20 million livelihood support grant for victims of market fire outbreaks in the state.
Balogun emphasized that Governor Seyi Makinde’s administration remains dedicated to improving the lives of residents by implementing initiatives that promote economic stability.
The beneficiaries, drawn from Gbaremu, Sango, Oke-Itunu, and Oranyan markets—where recent fire incidents devastated businesses—received financial assistance from the state government to aid their recovery.
She further stated that the initiative is part of a phased intervention, with plans to extend support to victims in other affected markets. In addition to financial aid, the government has organized training programs for market women on fire prevention and mitigation strategies.
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Mrs Balogun said: “Basically, this event is just another dimension of the usual way the Oyo state government shows concern for the welfare of the residents of the state.
“You are all aware that a couple of months back, there was a spate of fire incidents across the length and breadth of the state. We observed through our findings that it was not only the direct victims that were affected economically; that each of the victims has a minimum of 10 to 20 dependents that they are responsible for.
“So, this tells us that those incidents had far-reaching economic implications. So, the government of Governor Makinde, being a welfarist government, decided to see how it can support all these victims to bring them back to economic viability.
“We want them to resume to their level of self-sufficiency and to enable them to take care of other people depending on them for succour. As a result of this, our governor put aside other things and gave this an expedited approval and gave us a reasonable amount to be given to all the victims of the fire outbreaks.”
She said further, “This is just the first phase of the intervention. We are not just trying to get them back on their feet but also ensuring that these incidents are prevented. One of the ways we are doing this is that we are putting together training sessions for women in the state on how to mitigate and prevent fire outbreaks in our markets.
“This government is keen on empowering citizens to enable them to be self-sufficient and that is what this programme is all about.”
“In this first tranche, we have been able to disburse N20m to the beneficiaries and it is going to be an ongoing thing. We will ensure that all other people in all other markets that were affected will also be reached out to.”
Also speaking, a former Speaker of the Oyo State House of Assembly, Senator Monsurat Sunmonu, described the Governor Makinde-led administration as a government of the masses.
“We are giving these grants to victims of market fire outbreaks to support them to make a living. You can all see that this is a government of the masses. It is always ready to assist our people.
“We have to give thanks to God, Governor Seyi Makinde and the commissioner for organising this programme.”
Similarly, a chieftain of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Chief Babatunde Tijani, noted that the governor sympathised with the victims and decided to support them because his administration is pro-people.
Responding on behalf of the market associations, the Iyaloja of Ibadan North Local Government, Mrs Borode Omotayo Bolaji, also commended the government for the timely intervention.
She said: “It is a great thing to me, because I was not even expecting up to that amount at all. Also, it was not only our market that was given money, other markets were also given. We really appreciate what the governor has done for the victims.
“The N5m has dropped into the account of the person representing my own market and it will be disbursed any moment from now.”
The event had in attendance market leaders and top government functionaries.