Barely hours after a devastating fire swept through the Old Market in Sokoto, Governor Ahmed Aliyu was at the scene, inspecting the ruins left behind and offering words of reassurance to traders whose livelihoods were reduced to ashes.
The inferno, which broke out at about 10:00 a.m. on Sunday, razed several shops and destroyed goods estimated to be worth hundreds of millions of naira, leaving many business owners in distress.
During the visit, the governor sympathised with affected traders, describing the incident as a painful loss not only to the victims but to the entire state economy. He pledged that the state government would intervene to support those impacted and help them recover.
Governor Aliyu also directed relevant agencies to immediately assess the level of damage, stressing that the findings would guide the government’s response and relief measures.
According to a statement issued on Sunday by the Director-General, Media and Publicity, Abubakar Bawa, the governor commended emergency responders for their swift action in preventing the fire from spreading further.
He urged traders to remain calm while the government works out modalities to provide assistance, adding that measures would also be strengthened to prevent future occurrences in major markets across the state.
The Old Market, one of Sokoto’s busiest commercial centres, was still littered with burnt structures and charred goods as officials and sympathisers continued to assess the aftermath of the incident.
