Ojukwu tasks Nnewi traders on fire insurance

By Chukwujekwu Ilozue

The new Sole Administrator of Nnewi North Local Government Area, Chief Emeka Ojukwu (Jnr), at the weekend paid a visit to the multi-million naira Umuisiedo Market where fire razed down several stalls with goods worth millions of naira destroyed.

He said that traders in all the markets in Nnewi would begin the culture of insurance scheme. Ojukwu (Jnr) announced this as he visited the fire victims at the market some of whom were seen still weeping over the losses they sustained as a result of the fire as at the time of the sole administrator's visit.

He also assured them that the necessary preventive measures would be put in place in all the markets to forestall future occurrence of fire outbreak in the markets. The fire which raged for hours in the market before it was quenched, according to eyewitnesses, would not have wreaked much havoc if the fire extinguishers in the market were functional. "I will talk to all the leaders of market associations in Nnewi to know whether there is any provision for insurance in the market, to see whether they make any contribution to that effect. It is not the job of the council to replace the lost items, but if I should do anything; that will be on individual basis.

But we are looking at ways and possibilities of installing elevated water tanks at strategic positions so that if there is any fire incidents there will be enough water to fight it," Ojukwu said. He also expressed surprise that the Nnewi fire-fighting department was not functional and promised that something must be done about that, adding that he was equally surprised to hear that it was only fire-fighters from far away Okpoko in Ogbaru Council that came to the rescue of the traders when the incident occurred. He used the opportunity as one of his primary assignments to inspect the refuse collection sites of the Anambra State Waste Management Agency (ASWAMA) and said he was not satisfied with the sanitary condition in the industrial town. He said the person incharge of refuse disposal in Nnewi, Ngozi Ubah, was doing her best as it is settled that she is the capable hand for the job despite all the challenges which he said she had been directed to articulate for the attention of Governor Willie Obiano. He declared that clean environment was one of the cardinal objectives of Governor Obiano's administration.




Daily Independent