The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Lagos State has commiserated with owners of businesses razed by fire under the Apongbon section of the Eko Bridge in Lagos early hour of Wednesday.

The fire gutted shops under the Apongbon section of the Eko bridge, the intensity of which badly affected the bridge and truncated movement along that corridor.

Mr Hakeem Amode, the Publicity Secretary of the party in the state, in a statement in Lagos, described the fire as avoidable and one incident too many.

Amode, who recalled that the Lagos State Government had reported that 113 persons and property worth over N24.69 billion were lost to fire incidents in the state in 2021, urged Gov. Babajide Sanwo-Olu to stem the tide.

According to him, the state government must take proactive actions such as installing fire detectors and fire breakers in all markets in Lagos.

Amode said: “The Lagos PDP wants the APC led government to take the business of governance seriously by judiciously using tax payers money to train and equip men of the fire service in taking proactive measures to forestall future occurrence.

“We call on the Lagos State Ministry of Works to quickly move to work by conducting integrity test on Eko bridge, adjoining bridges and property around Apongbon bridge so as to ascertain the level of damage caused by the fire incident.”

He said that the party was standing with people of the state over the attendant gridlock occasioned by the incident.

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The Lagos State Government has shut Eko Bridge in Lagos Island indefinitely over inferno pending when integrity and Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) is conducted on the bridge to determine the level of public safety.

The government also issued a seven-day quit notice to owners and occupants of makeshift and containerised shops under bridges across the state or face forceful eviction.