Shop owners who were affected by the tanker fire incident in the Apata area of Oyo State on December 15 on Thursday alleged that the N10m palliative fund released by the government was mismanaged.
The victims also lamented that the few beneficiaries of the fund received less than what was allotted to them when the fund was disbursed.
The state Governor, Seyi Makinde, had on December 21 announced a N10m palliative scheme for the victims of the inferno during an on-the-spot assessment.
The victims, who stormed the state secretariat of the Nigeria Union of Journalists, Ibadan, with placards bearing various inscriptions, lamented that they were left out of the disbursement, while few of them were given insignificant share of the money.
The protesters, who spoke through two traders, Adunni Olasunkanmi and Temilade Makinde, stated that 45 beneficiaries were initially listed when the money was given in cash, but the list expanded to more than 70 after it was doctored to accommodate those who were not affected.
Olasunkanmi, popularly known as Iya Agoro, said, “I am a bread and essential goods seller affected by the fire. The first day that the governor visited the scene of the accident, he promised to give us N10m as relief fund and later, his representatives brought the cash to us.
“There were 45 names on the list but unfortunately, that list increased with those who were not affected included. In fact, we don’t know the new beneficiaries. The house I lived in and stored my goods was burnt and I was only lucky to escape with my four children.
“Initially, the sum of N500,000 was written as the amount I was to collect but I was only given N100,000. One Bamidele, who did not lose anything to the fire because she was not among the traders affected, got N300,000. Someone who claimed to be a shoemaker got N200,000. I lost over N12m worth of property to the fire.”
Temilade, whose store was also destroyed by the fire, said she was promised N500,000 but only got N60,000.
She said, “A day before the fire incident, I stocked the store with N1.3m worth of foodstuffs but everything was gone, including the building housing the store.
“We appeal to Governor Seyi Makinde to investigate the disbursement of the money and retrieve victims’ money from imposters.” CONTINUE READING……………………..
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