The Edo State Government and the state All Progressives Congress have traded blames over the fire that gutted about 20 shops at the Lagos Street Market in Benin, Edo State.
In a release on Wednesday by the Assistant State Publicity Secretary of the APC, Victor Osehobo, the chairman of the All Progressives Congress in Edo State, Col. David Imuse (retd), sympathised with traders who lost millions of naira worth of goods.
Imuse, who blamed the disaster on the refusal of the PDP-led government to separate electioneering campaigns from real time decision making as a government, said that the state governor, Godwin Obaseki, had in six years continued to make a mess of governance.
The APC chairman recalled that Obaseki in 2021 promised the employment of more firemen in addition to the 18 across the state while creating the incentives for them to work, as well as to make them feel cherished and appreciated.
“Obaseki even promised to buy additional fire trucks and refurbish the already dilapidated fire service trucks in the state as well as instal hydrants and water facilities in markets in collaboration with the federal fire service. But at this moment I can tell you that the governor has forgotten about this critical partnership which would have safeguarded lives and properties of traders in Edo markets.”
Reacting to the statement by the APC, the state Commissioner for Communication and Orientation, Chris Nehikhare, said the APC has confirmed “our strong suspicion that they are responsible or at least complicit in the Lagos Street fire and similar fire incidents that have happened on the eve or during electioneering campaigns season in the past in the state.
“The coincidence of the timing of these unwarranted fires is cause for concern. Edo State Government strongly believe that the APC must be involved.
“Recall that prior to the 2020 governorship election, Eki Osa, Santana and Oba markets were all set on fire. In fact traders in Eki Osa Market told journalists then that the fire was the handiwork of mischief makers, at a time the APC was aggressively looking for ways to blackmail Governor Godwin Obaseki and dent his high popularity ratings weeks before the election,” he added.
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