Published by Osasere Edomwonyi Ikpoba
The All Progressives Congress governorship candidate in Oyo State, Senator Sharafadeen Abiodun Alli, has redeemed a ₦50 million pledge to traders whose livelihoods were consumed by a devastating fire at the popular Oranyan Market in Ibadan. The presentation, made on Thursday at the market premises in the Ibadan North-East Local Government Area, marks one of the most substantial direct interventions by a political candidate in the wake of the disaster.
Representatives of Senator Alli, led by the Director-General of his campaign, Asiwaju Yemi Aderibigbe, alongside Dr. Tunji Olanipekun, Akogun Akeem Olatunji, and other prominent party leaders, met with victims, market leaders, and stakeholders to deliver the funds. Addressing the traders, Aderibigbe conveyed the candidate's message of solidarity in a time of profound loss. “What happened at Oranyan Market was unfortunate and heartbreaking. Many of you lost goods worth millions of naira and your means of livelihood overnight. As your son and as someone who wants to lead this state, I cannot look away,” he said.
The pledge was first made during an earlier visit by Senator Alli to the market following the fire, which broke out in the early hours of Monday. The fund, now fully redeemed, will be disbursed through the market leadership to help affected traders restock their shops and begin the long process of rebuilding their businesses.
The fire that triggered this intervention was catastrophic. According to eyewitness accounts, the inferno started around midnight and rapidly spread through sections of the market occupied by traders dealing in gold, furniture, second-hand clothes, and other goods. One eyewitness, identified as Iya Alia, estimated that nearly 300 shops may have been affected. The Special Adviser to the Governor on Fire Reforms and Chairman of the Oyo State Fire Services, Morof Akinwande, confirmed the incident but cautioned against putting a precise figure on the number of shops destroyed before a proper assessment could be completed. He noted that the fire reportedly started following an explosion, though it was not immediately established whether the explosion was caused by gas or another source. The situation was brought under control by 1 a.m., preventing the fire from spreading further.
The Acting Governor of Oyo State, Abdulraheem Adebayo Lawal, has also expressed sympathy to the affected traders and residents, assuring them that the state government would support them. The government is working with relevant emergency agencies to assess the damage and provide immediate relief. The Oranyan Market fire came barely two days after another fire outbreak destroyed nine locked-up shops at the Nigerian Railway Shopping Complex along Aleshinloye Market in Ibadan South-West Local Government Area.
Senator Alli, who described the market as “more than a place of business,” said its destruction had affected families who depended on the traders’ livelihoods. “A market is more than a place of business. It is where families are fed, dreams are built, and hardworking people create a future for themselves and their loved ones,” he said. “To see all of that brought to ashes is painful”.
The APC candidate also used the opportunity to call on the state government to do more to prevent future fire outbreaks in markets across Oyo State. “We need modern fire-fighting equipment, better market infrastructure, and insurance schemes for our traders. Markets are the engine of our economy and we must protect them,” he added. He promised that under an APC administration, traders and small business owners would receive more support, access to soft loans, and emergency response structures.
Market leaders and victims at the event appreciated the gesture, describing it as the first major support from a political leader since the fire incident. “Baba BSA has shown that he feels our pain. This money will help many of us start again. We pray God rewards him,” one of the victims said.
Senator Alli, who is widely referred to by his initials BSA, has made it clear that the ₦50 million intervention is just the beginning of his support for the affected traders. “The ₦50 million is just the beginning. The presence is the promise. This is Oyo AHEAD in motion,” he said. The redemption of the pledge is already generating conversations across Ibadan, with many seeing it as a sign of BSA’s commitment to the welfare of traders and the informal economy — a major voting bloc in Oyo State. As the 2027 elections approach, the APC candidate says his focus will remain on economic recovery, business support, and protecting the livelihoods of ordinary citizens of Oyo State.
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