As part of effort to ameliorate the suffering of some business men and women in Kogi State, the state government on Wednesday paid compensation to victims of the GSM village fire incident at Paparanda area in Lokoja.
The Deputy Governor, Joel Salifu Oyibo who presented the cheques to affected victims, said that the payment of the compensation was a testament to the incumbent government administration’s commitment to supporting those affected by the fire disaster.
It will be recall that the GSM village was razed by fire on September 12, 2024 leading to destruction of shops and properties worth millions of Naira.
The fire disaster made the governor of the state, Ahmed Usman Ododo to visited the scene the second day and immediately set up a committee headed by the Executive Secretary, State Emergency Management Agency (SEMA) to look into the remote cause of the incident with a view to compensate those affected.
In fulfilment of the promise on Wednesday, the Deputy Governor who double as the Chairman Board, State Emergency Management Agency handed cheques to those affected by the fire incident.
He said their 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 sympathize 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.”
In his speech , the Executive Secretary, SEMA, Muoktar Atimah handed over the cheques to the victims, with some going home with N5 million, N1 million and some N500,000.
According to him, those who have shops and sell phones and phones accessories were given higher amount than those who were just phone repairers, announcing 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 deliver verdict. 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 went forensics before we arrived at the estimations. This was done devoid of religion, tribe or political affiliations of the affected victims”.
Reacting to the good gesture by the Governor, 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.
The State commissioner for Water Resources, Engr. Yahaya Farouq, the member representing Lokoja 1 in the state Assembly, Bin-Ebiya Shehu Tijani and other government appointees were present at the presentation.
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