The presidential candidate of the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC), Peter Obi, has expressed sympathy with traders and business owners affected by a fire outbreak at Eda Plaza in Jabi, Abuja.
The fire, which occurred in the early hours of Sunday, August 30, destroyed several shops and building materials at the plaza, located opposite Chida Hotel.
According to the Federal Fire Service, a distress call concerning the incident was received at about 2:46 a.m. Firefighters from the Wuse, Interior Ministry and Garki stations, alongside personnel from the FCT Fire Service, were deployed to the scene.
The firefighting operation was brought to an end at about 10:14 a.m., according to the Federal Fire Service.
An eyewitness who spoke to the Nigerian Television Authority said the fire was discovered at about 3 a.m., after a trader received a distress call from a colleague.
He said one of his brother-in-law’s two shops and a packing store were completely destroyed, while the value of roofing materials lost was estimated at more than N20 million.
Despite the scale of the destruction, the eyewitness said no casualty was recorded in the incident.
Reacting to the development in a statement shared on his X account on Sunday, Obi sympathised with the affected traders and business owners, describing the incident as a painful setback for people whose livelihoods were affected.
He also stressed the need for Nigeria to strengthen its emergency-response system, particularly the capacity and preparedness of fire services to respond quickly to emergencies.
The cause of the fire had not been established as of the time of filing this report, while investigations into the incident were ongoing.
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