By Merit Ibe
The use of firewoods,charcoal and generating sets by the various food vendors and other business operators at the international market across the country has been identified by the United Allied Spare Parts Dealers Association(UASPDA)as a major cause for market fire outbreaks recorded in recent times.
This assertion was contained in an address by the president of the association, Deacon Simon Uzoetue at the general meeting of the union held recently at the UASPDA premises.
To minimize the trend, Uzoetue said the association was building an ultra-modern kitchen facilities for food vendors to enable only the use of gas cookers.
He lamented that apart from setting the industry backwards, market fire has become a recurring decimal in Nigeria which the impact has thrown millions of very successful traders and their families into abject poverty while leading others to their early grave.
“Another important aspect of this environmental sanitation which we are working on is to regulate the cooking habits of food vendors within the complex. It is no more news that the carelessness of those cooking with woods and coals are among the major causes of most market fire incidents witnessed lately across Nigeria. So, we are building ultra-modern kitchen facilities for food vendors to enable only the use of gas cookers; knowing very well that after putting off the burning woods and coals at the close of day, some of the fire comes back alive in the night, using all the littering plastics and garbage as fuel to spread everywhere”.
Uzoetue further told the general assembly that his administration has successfully completed a solar electricity project at the secretarial building to reduce the use of generating sets. While noting that the gesture will be extended to all plaza and clusters for the benefits of those operators whose business require constant and all day power supply.
The UASPDA General Secretary Uzochukwu Mmaduike while raising the issues of shop revocation and authentication, reminded other traders that “Today is the third and last meeting where this matter is being treated, so we need a final conclusion.”
The traders therefore approved a 21 days notice to all shop owners who defaulted in paying for their allocated shops, while a nine man authentication committee was set up to oversea the authentication exercise within the next six months.