The Edo State Government has inaugurated an 8-man panel of inquiry on the inferno that destroyed goods worth millions of naira at the Auto Spare Parts Market in Uwelu, Egor Local Government Area of the state.
Secretary to the State Government SSG), Osarodion Ogie Esq., inaugurated the committee on Thursday in Government House, Benin City, the state capital.
According to Ogie, the terms of reference of the committee include “to examine the remote and immediate cause of the fire incident at the market and establish the culpability of any person, group, corporation or entity, in bearing responsibility for the incident.”
Others are “to establish the full extent of damage and loss arising from the said incident, and assess the effectiveness or otherwise of the response of the emergency response unit as well as law enforcement agencies to the incident.”
The committee was also tasked “to make recommendations to government on measures to be taken to avoid a repetition of similar tragic incident in future.”
The state government also urged the panel to summon any person or group to offer testimony or documents and visit the site of the incident.
Ogie further tasked the committee to carry out its work within a period of one week.
In the committee’s vote of thanks, the Chairman, Hon. Osaigbovo Iyoha, Special Adviser to Edo Governor on Political Matters (Edo South), expressed appreciation to the state government for the opportunity given to the members to serve, and assured that the committee would live up to the confidence reposed in them.
He pledged that they would deliver the assigned task within the stipulated time.