In response to a potentially disastrous situation, Abia State Governor, Dr. Alex Otti, has taken swift action by ordering the evacuation and seal-off of a block of shops that collapsed in Aba.
The incident which occurred Wednesday morning at the Shopping Centre Aba, Zone 13, where a stretch of buildings housing approximately 15 shops gave way while traders were preparing for the day’s business.
Reports reaching National Ambassador Newspaper has it that there was no reported casualties or injuries as traders and visitors to the market managed to escape in time.
A vigilant individual had noticed unusual cracks on the walls of the building and raised an alarm, which led to a timely evacuation.
Reacting, Governor Otti who expressed his condolences to the affected traders, characterized the incident as an unfortunate and avoidable consequence of the past administration’s negligence. He emphasized that the present government is dedicated to rectifying the mistakes of the past to prevent such tragedies from occurring in the future.
“Reports reaching me from traders in the market suggest that this tragic and unfortunate incident is as a result of greed by officials of the past administration.
“I understand that additional structures were erected on existing floors not minding the negative impact and structural defect such would have on the building.
“The consequence of that indiscretion is this avoidable tragedy of collapsed block of shops. We, however, thank God that there is no loss of life or injury to anyone,” Dr. Otti said.
The Governor said he had dispatched the Commissioner for Information, Prince Okey Kanu and the Senior Special Assistant on Aba Rejuvenation, Mr. Uche Ukeje, for an on-the-spot assessment of the incident.
Meanwhile, Governor Otti has ordered that an integrity test be conducted on all the other shops in the market to guard against a repeat of such occurrence.
