24th March, 2021
By Ismaila Chafe
President Muhammadu Buhari on Tuesday said his government would work with Katsina and Zamfara to assist traders affected by fire.
Malam Garba Shehu, the Senior Special Assistant on Media, said Buhari’s message was delivered to the governors of the two states by a Federal Government delegation.
The delegation was led by Abubakar Malami, the Attorney General of the Federation and the Minister of Justice.
The delegation visited Katsina and Gusau, the capitals of the two states.
Buhari expressed concern at the destruction of billions of Naira worth of goods and property in the inferno.
He noted that the unfortunate fire incidents came at a time when the effects of COVID 19 on economies around the world had taken a toll on virtually all businesses.
He also acknowledged that many of the traders had stocked wares in anticipation of the boom in sales in the period of the upcoming Ramadan and the Sallah festival that follows.
According to the president, the government will do all that is possible to assist them to ease the hardship and losses suffered.
He explained that his reason for sending the powerful delegation was for it to assess the extent of damage and discuss aid from the Federal Government.
While commiserating with the governments and people of the two states, Buhari said he was interested in working with them to avert a recurrence of such tragic incidents.
While in Gusau, the government delegation congratulated the state government on the recent harvest of successes in curtailing the activities of bandits in the state.
Malami was accompanied by the Ministers of Interior, Rauf Aregbesola, Police Affairs, Maigari Dingyadi, Aviation, Hadi Sirika and that of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management and Social Development Sadiya Umar Faruk.
The President’s Senior Special Assistant, Media and Publicity, Malam Garba Shehu, was also part of the delegation.
Gov. Aminu Masari of Katsina State, accepted the President’s invitation to work with Federal authorities to find solutions to the recurring problem of market fires.
Masari announced that he had set up a committee to investigate the remote and immediate causes of the incident while giving assurances that the victims would not be left to their fate.
In his remarks, the Emir of Katsina, Abdulmumin Kabir Usman raised an alarm about plots to destabilise the Buhari administration, cautioning the media to avoid playing a part of it.
On his part, Gov. Bello Matawalle of Zamfara conveyed to the President, the happiness of his people over the visit.
He described the sympathy expressed by the president following the recent fire incident at Tudun Wada Central Market, Gusau, as an illustration of his fatherly love for Zamfara.
The governor used the occasion to appeal to the Federal government to consider a general amnesty for repentant bandits as was done in the case of Niger Delta militants.