Okobaba Fire Victims Relocated

Governor Babatunde Fashola of Nigeria’s Lagos State has ordered the relocation of over 1500 displaced victims of the Oko Baba Plank Market fire to the Lagos State Relief Camp at Agbowa area of Epe.

Fashola, who visited the scene of the fire disaster in Ebute Meta area of the state ordered the General Manager, Lagos State Emergency Management Agency, LASEMA, Dr. Femi Oke-Osanyintolu, to immediately open the Agbowa Relief Camp to accommodate the displaced victims.

The governor said sawmillers in the area must move to the place government was constructing for them as they would not be allowed to inhabit Oko Baba anymore.

“The revenue you make from here is enough to rebuild this place. We all know the importance of wood in construction process. This business environment is not well structured. That was why we said earlier that everybody must leave this place for us to plan it properly.

“The intervention of the government is not to impoverish but to prosper everyone here. It is time for everyone to begin to move their property away from this place and relocate to Agbowa. We would be completing the construction of 3, 000 houses very soon. The place is well constructed with all the necessary amenities,” he said.

According to Fashola, “The Ministry of the Environment would be embarking on re-beautification of the area. We will be demarcating the area to ensure that saw millers are located in an area separate from the residents.

“We cannot allow you to rebuild here until we clear this place out. As I have explained to your leaders, our agreement earlier was that the saw mill business would be relocated to another place which would be completed very soon.

In line with the governor’s directive, Oke-Osanyintolu said the agency had begun the enumeration of displaced residents with a bid to take them to the camp, saying that there were adequate facilities at the camp to take care of the needs of the people.

He added that LASEMA would immediately open the camp to welcome residents who wanted to come in for temporary accommodation.

Oke-Osanyintolu stated that the internally displaced people had been evacuated to the relief camp at Agbowa, saying that the camp had been declared open.

“LASEMA is on ground and all the stakeholders involved in emergency have been informed,” he added.

—Kazeem Ugbodaga