A fire outbreak reportedly gutted the Kugbo furniture market Abuja, destroying different goods said to worth millions of naira.
The fire , which eye witness account said occurred on Friday morning, affected a section of the market where traders sell woods, foams, boards and other furniture accessories.
Confirming the incident, the Chairman of Kugbo Wood Machinist Association, Godswill Ndukwe, said the fire started before most traders arrived to open their shops.
Ndukwe, who disclosed that the exact cause of the fire incident has not been established also noted that a preliminary estimate by some of his members revealed that the loss would be about N500m.
He lamented the recurring fire outbreaks in the market and appealed to the Abuja Municipal Area Council (AMAC) and the Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA) to take urgent measures to prevent further incidents.
He said, “The fire outbreak this morning is terrible. The fire started when most of the shops were not opened.
“The affected section houses foams, woods, local and foreign boards and furniture accessories.
“We are yet to know the cause of the fire, but goods worth five hundred million were burnt.
“We are appealing to AMAC and the FCT Administration to do something. We have had several of these incidents, and officials will come and make promises, but nothing happens afterwards. Please, let the government help us.”
Another trader, Okechukwu Chike, who deals in different types of boards, declined to comment, apparently overwhelmed by the loss, as he watched helplessly over the remains of his shop.
Efforts to obtain comments from the FCT Fire Service and other relevant government agencies were unsuccessful as of the time of filing this report.
