Twelve shops and goods worth about N50 million were destroyed by fire on Sunday afternoon at the Kuje market in the FCT.
Mr Shaban Ishaku, the Chairman of Kuje Area Council, while addressing newsmen at the scene of the incident, said he was shocked when he received news of the fire outbreak.
He said it was not common to have fire incidents in the council.
“We have never witnessed such an incident in the history of Kuje and we thank God that no life was lost in the inferno,’’ the council chairman said.
Ishaku appealed to the affected traders to remain calm as the area council would meet with the Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA) to plan how to compensate them.
“It is sad news, because goods worth many millions of Naira were lost to the fire and I appeal to the affected traders not to worry as the Area Council will compensate them,’’ he said.
The chairman however said plans were underway to decongest the market to ensure easy movement of goods within the market.
He said the council would soon meet with the market authorities and traders in the market to find possible solution to prevent future occurrences.
The Chairman, Traders Association of Kuje, Alhaji Yunusa Musa, sympathised with the affected traders, saying the incident happened at a time the economy was facing challenges.
He appealed to the area council to hasten the process of ensuring that the affected traders were compensated, as they had no other means of survival.
Musa said this was because the goods lost were worth more than N50 million.
