Kogi state government has fulfilled its promise to alleviate the pains of business owners affected by a fire incident at the Lokoja GSM Village.
Presenting cheques valued at N34.2million to victims of the fire incident in Lokoja on Wednesday, Governor Ahmed Usman Ododo said the payment of compensation was a testament to his administration’s commitment to citizen’s welfare.
Represented by the Deputy Governor, Comrade Joel Salifu Oyibo, the Governor said the administration remains dedicated to providing immediate relief and long-term support to all Kogites.
“We came here after the fire incident and promised you that we would come back. We sympathise with all the victims of the incident. The committee has done inventory of those affected by the fire incident, and we are going to compensate people according to the enumeration process. We are here today to fulfill the promise we made to you,” he said.
Recall that the GSM village was razed by fire on September 12, 2024 leading to destruction of shops and properties worth millions of Naira.
Governor Ododo visited the scene the second day and immediately set up a committee headed by the Executive Secretary, Kogi State Emergency Management Agency (KOSEMA) to look into the immediate and remote causes of the incident with a view to compensate those affected.
The Executive Secretary, KOSEMA, Muktar Atimah handed over the cheques to the victims, with some going home with N5 million, N1 million and some N500,000.
Atimah said those who have shops, sell phones and phones accessories were given higher amount than those who were just phone repairers.
He, however, announced that the committee has recommended the relocation of the GSM Village.
“This committee was set up the second day after the incident and giving two weeks to submit its report. Part of the committee recommendation is that the GSM village be relocated for safety purpose.
“We are also happy that the governor responded quickly and approved the exact sum of N34.2m we estimated for compensation to affected victims. This shows that the governor is feeling what you’re facing.
“We checked the cash flow and business account of victims, we deployed forensics before we arrived at the estimations. This was done devoid of religion, tribe or political affiliations of the affected victims,” Atimah said.
Secretary of the GSM Village Phone Association, Miracle Elom expressed their appreciation for the compensations given to them and promised to make good use of the money.
