The Kebbi State Governor, Comrade Dr Nasir Idris, Kauran Gwandu, has symphatised with Kebbi Timber Marketers over an early morning inferno that destroyed a section of the market located at Bayan-Kara area in Birnin Kebbi.
The governor, who was represented by his Deputy, Sen. Umar Abubakar Tafida, expressed serious concern over what he described as unfortunate incident.
Inspecting the scene of the outbreak, the governor sympathised with the victims and urged them to accept the will of God Almighty in good faith.
“On behalf of the State Government, we are donating N10 million in the interim, to enable you recoup part of your losses.
“This administration under Comrade Dr Nasir Idris will fully respond to assist those affected restart business after complete assessment of the tragedy,”he assured.
The Chairman of the Timber Marketers Association, Bello Dan-Sambo, thanked the deputy governor for the visit, expressing immense gratitude to Gov. Nasir Idris for his kind gesture of donating an initial sum of N10 million to the affected members.
A total of nine timber merchants are the identified victims of the fire outbreak with cumulative losses of about N191.7 million in timber and other accessories.
The entourage comprised the Commissioner for Information and Culture, Hon. Yakubu Ahmed Birnin Kebbi, Commissioner for Lands and Housing, Hon. Muhammed Dangi Juli and the Permanent Secretary in the Ministry, Abubakar Muhammad.
An eye witness account revealed that the cause of the fire was attributable to an electric spark in one of the shops after power was restored by the Kaduna Electricity Distribution Company (KEDCO) early Saturday morning.
“At about 5 am this morning, we noticed flames from a shop which quickly spread to others, engulfing hundreds of timber and plywoods inside and outside the enclosure,” he said.
