Seyi Makinde, Governor of Oyo State, says his administration will rejig the service of Oyo State Fire Service with a view to ensuring more effective service delivery.
Governor Makinde stated this at the weekend following an inspection of the Fresh FM Headquarters, Ibadan, which had part of its headquarters destroyed by fire on Friday.
The governor, who noted that the incident, though sad, had become a wake-up call on the State Government on emergency management and fire response, saying he would sit with the headship of the Oyo State Fire Service with a view to rejigging the service for a more effective service delivery.
“What has happened here is a wake-up call for us as far as response time is concerned. I believe if we had taken Oyo State Fire Agency to the level that we want it to be, this damage would not have been to this extent.
“I would be sitting with the Chairman of that Agency to see what we can do. We have a fire station here around Scout Camp. If it had been equipped to the level that they could handle this, they would have been here before the people at the Secretariat came”, he said.
The governor, who arrived at the station around around 7.30pm, expressed his sympathy to Olayinka Joel Ayefele, Chairman of the Radio Station and the Management.
Governor Makinde, who appreciated God that no life was lost to the inferno, promised that the State Government would support the station towards ensuring that it does not go off the air for long as it had proved quite vital in providing information to the residents of the State.
“Those are things that I have seen that we have to work on.To the Chairman and Management of Fresh FM, I want to encourage you all. First, if you have this kind of situation, we have to be thankful to God that we didn’t lose any life.
“In terms of moving forward, I believe myself and the state government will give support to them. They are very vital to informing our people. We won’t let the station close for an extended period of time. So, I give them that assurance”, he noted.
Ayefele in his response, expressed gratitude to Governor Makinde, commending the promptness of his visit to the station, which according to him, showed he is a caring leader.
He equally appreciated all the fans of the radio station, including the first responders as well as others within and outside the Country, calling on them to all join hands with him towards rebuilding the station.
Some of the facilities affected by the fire, it was learnt, included the Fresh FM Studio, the Blast FM Studio, the Newsroom, the Transmitter Room, the Blast FM GM’s Office, and the Fresh FM’s Assistant GM Office, among others.
