About five artisans, who lost valuables in the fire that burnt their shops at Basiri community in Ado- Ekiti Local Government Area of Ekiti State, have been assured of assistance of the Ekiti State government.The shops, at a site opposite the former textile factory in the area, including one used by a carpenter and a welder, were completely razed by the fire suspected to have been caused by a spark from a nearby electric pole.The fire defied the efforts of the men of the state Fire Services Department who battled the fire for about two hours, and destroyed all the work tools and sundry goods valued at N10 million belonging to various customers of the owners of the shop before the fire was extinguished.Deputy Governor of the state, Mrs. Funmi Olayinka, who visited the affected shops, gave the victims the assurance 'that the government of Dr. Kayode Fayemi shares in their predicament, even as he was prepared to extend the gesture enjoyed by victims of such occurrences before them to them.'Mrs Olayinka, who was there on an assessment tour of the burnt property, described the incident as 'a very pathetic one,' saying 'the government wished it never happened.'According to her, 'our government is a people's government and we have said it everywhere that we are ready to share in the plight of our people. The governor has insisted that everybody in distress must be assisted, so you will not be abandoned at this hour of need'.Olayinka who thanked God that no live was lost to the fire assured the victims that government's assistance towards alleviating their sufferings would be very prompt, even as she stressed that the state government was committed to the wellness of its citizens.'In our usual practice over the last one year, we have being assisting citizens of this state who have incurred one loss or the other, whether through flood, fire or any other disaster, we have always assisted them and we will assist these ones as well. We need to alleviate this suffering at least,' she assured.The deputy governor described the incident as unfortunate and saddening, even as it happened in a residential area yet no one could alert the State Fire Services department until total damage had been wrecked.She added that preventive measures such as a fire alarm system ought to have been put in place to alert the fire service emergency section and urged people to stay away from bush burning while electric appliances are switched off when closing for the day's work.One of the owners of the shop, Mr. Oluwatoyin Akerejola, who spoke with journalists said he was shocked when the news was broken to him that his shop was razed by fire but appealed to government to come to their aid as the incident did not only cut off their means of livelihood but also plunged them into debt given the value of goods burnt by the fire.
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