From Ahmed Kaigama, Bauchi
The Bauchi State Emergency Management Agency (SEMA)has revealed that death toll of last Monday bomb explosion at the Central Market in the state capital, Bauchi, has risen to 19 just as the agency stated that property worth N240million were destroyed in the explosion, while a total of 130 shops were razed by the inferno that followed the explosion.
The chairman, Emergency Committee of the Agency, Alhaji Inuwa Bello, stated this over the weekend in Bauchi saying the figures were arrived at following an assessment carried out by the agency.
Meanwhile, donations are pouring in for the traders of the market towards reconstruction of the razed market, the biggest in Bauchi State.
The state governor, Mallam Isa Yuguda, at the weekend announced a personal donation of five trailers of cement for the reconstruction of the destroyed market, while the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) governorship candidate in the February, 2015 general election made a donation of N30million his All Progressives Congress counterpart, Alhaji Mohammed Abdullahi Abubakar, made a donation of N1 million, while the party’s Senatorial candidate for Bauchi South, Ali Wakili,donated N1million.
The Minister of Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Senator Bala Mohammed, who led a Federal Government delegate on Sunday, also announced a donation of N20million, which he said he made on behalf of himself and his friends.
He, however, added that as soon as the state government set modalities in place for the reconstruction of the market, he would mobilize more funds from his friends and associates to facilitate quick reconstruction of the market
He said that the federal government has no hand in the spate of bombings rocking parts of the country, just as it commiserates with victims of Bauchi bomb explosion
Representing President Jonathan, Bala said that contrary to insinuations that the administration of Jonathan was not responsible for the recent spate of bombing, the President has nothing to do with it.
He said, “I seize this opportunity to dissuade some of the insinuations and lies that are being said that the federal government has a hand in some of these insurgent and bombings. It is unheard off; it is unfair for anybody to use the blood of people to play politics”.
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