The Oyo State Government is set to acquire 10 modern fire-fighting equipment through a competitive bidding process.
Prof. Raphael Afonja, the state Commissioner for Works and Transport, made this known in a statement issued by Mr Taiwo Adisa, the Chief Press Secretary to Gov. Seyi Makinde in Ibadan on Sunday.
The commissioner undertook an on-the-spot assessment of the fire incident that ravaged Akesan Market in Oyo town on Sunday morning.
Afonja said that the process that would lead to the acquisition of the equipment would start on Monday, Jan. 6.
“This position is coming on the heels of fire incidents that led to loss of lives and destruction of goods and property worth multi-million naira in Ibadan and Oyo towns,” the commissioner said.
The Commissioner for Environment and Natural Resources, Mr Kehinde Ayoola, accompanied Afonja to the scene of the fire incident that occurred in Oyo town in the early hours of Sunday.
Speaking at the Palace of Oba Lamidi Adeyemi III, the Alaafin of Oyo, Afonja stated that the present administration in the state inherited a Fire Service Department with weakened capacity as a result of obsolete equipment.
He said that the present administration had flagged off a process of rehabilitating the serviceable fire-fighting trucks to provide immediate service to the people.
The commissioner also noted that the process of rehabilitating the inherited trucks was still ongoing when the outbreak of fire incidents occurred repeatedly.
The statement noted that the governor expressed sympathy with all victims of the incident and promised to get to its root.
