Otti promised that his administration would continue to work with the leadership of Ariaria market to improve the welfare and safety of both traders and visitors.
By Jeffrey Agbo
Abia State Governor Alex Otti has condoled with traders at the Ariaria International Market, Aba, whose shops were gutted by fire on Saturday night and in the early hours of Sunday.
Otti expressed heartfelt sympathy to the traders who reportedly lost goods worth hundreds of millions of naira in the fire which affected the Power Line section of the market.
Although some media reports blamed the fire on erratic power supply, the governor said he had dispatched the Commissioner for Trade, Commerce and Industry, Chimezie Ukaegbu, and the Senior Special Assistant on Aba Rejuvenation, Uche Ukeje, for an on-the-spot assessment and revert to him.
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Governor Otti said the report of the two senior members of his cabinet would help the government come up with the next line of action with regard to how to forestall a reoccurrence of the tragic incident and assist the affected traders to mitigate their loss.
Otti, while promising that his administration would continue to work with the leadership of Ariaria market to improve the welfare and safety of both traders and visitors to the market, expressed gratitude to God that no life was lost in the fire as only material and redeemable items were destroyed.