We lost millions to Funtua market fire, traders

Details have emerged regarding the fire that at Funtua General Hospital Market in Katsina metropolis.

Chairman of the Funtua Traders Association, Alhaji Sule Garba, said goods worth N350m were destroyed by the fire, adding that over 3,000 traders were transacting business at the market prior to the inferno.

Garba who spoke while conducting Katsina State Governor Aminu Bello Masari round the scene of the inferno, said no fewer than 350 shops and stalls were affected. He said men of the fire service made efforts to extinguish the fire, but still damage was recorded.

While urging the state and federal governments to come to the aid of the victims of the inferno, Garba said “350 shops and stalls were completely razed down during the fire outbreak. However, men and officers of the state Fire Service worked hard to quench the fire but could not.”

In his remarks, the Katsina State Governor Masari directed the state Environment Management Agency (SEMA) to assess the level of destruction by the inferno and report to the government.

“I assure you that government would continue to assist businessmen and women in order to boost business activities in the state. I call on you to cooperate with SEMA and URPB to conduct a thorough work at the site of the inferno,” Masari said.