President Muhammadu Buhari on Sunday sympathised with the victims of Jos Terminus Market where more than 200 shops were destroyed by fire.
Buhari expressed his feelings in a statement issued by Malam Garba Shehu, his Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity, in Abuja on Sunday.
Properties worth millions of naira, were on Saturday morning destroyed in Jos Terminus Market as traders wept and counting their losses.
The Chairman of the traders association in Plateau, Mr Abdulrahman Yusuf, told journalists in Jos that over 270 shops with property worth millions of naira were destroyed.
“We have one trader in this market that lost goods worth over N20 million. It is a huge loss and it’s quite devastating,” he said.
The president said he was devastated by the scale of economic losses suffered by “hard working and ordinary Nigerians who believe in self-reliance to support themselves”.
He observed that trading and agriculture had remained “the mainstay of these hard working businessmen and women and every democratic leader would genuinely feel the pains of the victims of this fire disaster.
“With profound sense of empathy, I am touched by the large scale economic losses suffered by the victims of this fire disaster.
“The role of these enterprising Nigerians in the economy of our country cannot be underestimated.’’
Buhari said he was worried that the latest fire disaster at the Jos Terminus Market was the third in less than 10 years.
“As you count your losses, I send you my heartfelt commiserations over this devastating disaster.
“I am confident that your enterprising spirit would help you rebuild your lives. May God replenish you with more prosperity,’’ he said.
The president also appealed to the local authorities concerned to take every necessary measure to forestall frequent fire incidents.
He said the incidents were taking a heavy toll on people’s means of livelihood and the intervention of all three tiers of government would go a long way to alleviating the hardships.