No fewer than 29 shops have been marked for demolition at the popular Oja- Tuntun market, Baboko area, Ilorin, Kwara State to forestall further fire outbreaks in the market.

LEADERSHIP observed that the market had in the recent past witnessed many fire outbreaks which consumed property worth millions of naira.

In most cases, the Kwara State Fire Service attributed the incessant fire outbreaks in the market to either electrical fault or power surge.

But, in its determination to put an end to the incessant fire outbreaks in the market, the Ilorin West local government area which controls the market has marked 29 shops for demolition.

LEADERSHIP gathered that the decision of the council did not go down well with the marketers who had appealed to the state government to stop Ilorin West LGA from carrying out the demolition exercise.

The shop owners said they had been forced to move out of their shops by the authority of the council following a threat to bulldoze the shops.

When contacted, the chairman of Ilorin West LGA, Alhaji Muktar Omotosho explained that the rationale behind the planned demolition of some shops at Oja-Tuntun is to “restructure the market, prevent incessant fire outbreaks and tackle security challenges in the market.”

Omotosho said the council had signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the shop owners and executives of the market on the planned restructuring of the market.

He added that the roofs of the shops were willingly removed by the shop owners ahead of the planned demolition.

The spokesman of Baaboko Market Association, Mr. Ajayi Emmanuel, confirmed that the market executives in conjunction with the shop owners signed an MoU with the management of Ilorin West LGA on the planned restructuring of the market.