Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu of Lagos State has vowed
that more buildings will be demolished to allow for proper cleanup of the
Dosunmu market.
Sanwo-Olu disclosed this on
Thursday when he visited the market, which was gutted by fire on Tuesday.
The fire destroyed no fewer
than 14 buildings, with four buildings collapsing, according to the Lagos
Territorial Coordinator of the National Emergency Management Authority, Ibrahim
Farinloye.
Sanwo-Olu, who described the
disaster as “preventable,” blamed it on carelessness.
In a post on X, the governor said,
“Dosunmu Market will remain closed until we can ensure the safety of all
structures and compliance with regulations. Unapproved buildings will be
demolished. Our commitment to safety and order in our markets is unwavering.”
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He further said, “This is very unfortunate. This
fire started on Tuesday and first responders were activated. We thought it was
something we could control in the first couple of hours but, unfortunately, our
people have been very reckless, and they denied the first responders access.
So, even 48 hours later, it’s still an active disaster site.
“About 14 buildings have been affected but more
might still go down after the extensive fit-for-purpose test that will be
conducted soon.
“What I have seen here could have been prevented. We
don’t have a full report yet, so I don’t want to speculate, but the initial
report said the fire resulted from gross carelessness and people not
understanding what it means to keep the environment safe, but we will conduct a
proper extensive audit into what led to this.
“We also notice that a lot of
residential apartments have been converted into warehouses with inflammable
materials kept in them. This is unacceptable, we will not allow a few people,
who will not comply with our laws, to put the lives of others in danger. I
announced yesterday that the market all around will be closed until we are able
to do full assessments and proper clean up of this area. And without any doubt,
some other buildings will go down.”
The governor said the Dosunmu
Market fire incident should be a wake-up call, stressing that, “The government
will not shy away from its responsibility; we will come hard on structures and
property that will not conform to our rules and bring them down. And I will
shut this place for as long as it takes; there will be zero tolerance all
around here.”
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