The leaders of Ihiala Local Government Area have lauded Governor Willie Obiano for demonstrating solidarity with their people following the fire which engulfed Nkwogbe Market, the largest market in the 10 towns which make up the LGA.
“We are impressed that Chief Obiano visited the market to not only comfort the people and see the extent of damage within just 24 hours the tragedy occurred but also pledged a fire truck for the people which will be provided immediately”, said the Deputy Speaker of the Anambra State House of Assembly, Dr Pascal Agbodike; the member representing Ihiala 1 in the state House of Assembly, Barrister Chidi Udemadu; the Commissioner for Information and Public Enlightenment, Mr C. Don Adinuba; the chairman of the Ihiala LGA Transition Committee, Engineer Jeff Obi; the chairman of the Ihiala LGA Traditional Rulers Council, Igwe Emmanuel Nnabuife who is also the traditional ruler of Isseke Town; the traditional ruler of Ihiala Town, Igwe Thomas Obidiegwu; and the President General of the Ihiala Progress Union, Chief Okey Chukwu, in a statement released in Awka today.
“There has been in recent years a series of fires at Nkwogbe Market, the largest employer of labour in our LGA and even beyond, but no governor has visited us within several weeks of any occurrence except Governor Obiano who came less than 24 hours after the Sunday tragedy and set in motion a number of measures, including setting up a panel headed by Mrs Joy Ulasi, a thoroughbred technocrat and former chairman of the Anambra State Post-Primary School Service Commission, to determine within one month the causes of the inferno and provide advise on how to avoid a possible reoccurrence”.
The leaders welcomed the promise of a fire truck, describing it as the most critical step towards the completion of the Anambra State Fire Service Station under construction in Ihiala to serve the entire LGA and beyond.
Other requirements to complete the station and make it operational are a borehole, a perimeter fence and deployment of firemen to the place.
They pledged to help mobilize stakeholders to complete the station, more so with the fast approach of the harmatan during which Nigerian records more fires because of the dry weather.
The LGA political leaders agreed to work in concert with the Ihiala Local Government and the state government as well as other stakeholders to construct a standard market, noting that the market, one of the biggest in Anambra State but built in the early 1960s with zinc and woods, was no longer adequate for a fast developing urban.
“We need a standard market with modern facilities, where even such professionals as lawyers, doctors, engineers, dentists and management consultants can have offices like the Ikota Shopping Complex, the commercial part of Victoria Garden City (VGC) Estate in Lekki Peninsula, Lagos”, they stated.
They also advised leaders to borrow a leaf from Governor Obiano by always demonstrating solidarity with their people, especially when the latter are facing acute challenges.
“One hallmark of good leadership everywhere in the world”, they asserted, “is humanness coupled with responsiveness.
“On this score, Chief Obiano has done well, and it is for this reason we urge him to start more decisively to tackle the acute problems of waste management and roads in our area.
“We know he is leaving in March, but he is one of the few governors in Nigeria who will finish strong up to the last day in office”.
