Sewing section of the Tejuosho market on fire, last Tuesday
NEMA confirms 150 shops, over 1,000 machines destroyed in Tejuosho Market fire
Last Tuesday afternoon’s fire which razed the sewing and fabric section of the Tejuosho Market in the Yaba area of Lagos destroyed 150 lock-up shops and over 1, 000 machines, as confirmed by the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), Wednesday.
It would be recalled that a mysterious fire which spread across the expansive ultra-modern market, last Tuesday afternoon, following an explosion from a generating set, ravaged the tailoring section of the complex.
The fire spread throughout the fabric and tailoring section within minutes of the explosion, giving the traders no chance of salvaging their equipment trapped inside the shops.
The fire destroyed over a thousand industrial, weaving and straight sewing machines operated by artisans housed I side 150 lock-up shops inside the market.
Confirming the extent of the damage to property, Wednesday, Lagos State Territorial Coordinator of NEMA, Ibrahim Farinloye, in his post-disaster loss and needs assessment at the scene of the incident, also appealed to the victims, describing their huge loss as a ‘trial and temporary setback.’
Making the confirmation on behalf of the Director General of the agency, Farinloye said at least 1200 artisans may have been affected by the fire disaster, which he calculated to be ‘at least registered eight traders occupying each shop.’
“The assessment revealed that about 150 lock-up shops with at least registered eight traders were occupying each shop,” Farinloye said.
However, for Chairman of the Tejuosho fabric section traders, Godwill Okorie, the way the fire spread to the whole market within minutes had left him in doubt on the cause of the inferno, even as he appealed to loan facilitators ‘to kindly consider the calamities and grant us more loans to enable us start off and service the loans.’
