The Maiduguri Central market, popularly known as Monday Market, has been reopened for business after eight months closure due to fire incident.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the market was completely gutted by fire in February in a midnight inferno that destroyed goods worth billions of naira.
Inaugurating the rebuilt market at a ceremony on Monday, Governor Babagana Zulum said the remodelled market would accommodate 9,000 beneficiaries.
Zulum said traders who rent shops and pay rent to government in the market have been given a two-year waiver because of losses they incurred during the incident.
The governor also announced support of ₦800 million to 2,825 traders who did not benefit from shop allocation in the remodelled market with assurance that they would be given shops in the next one year in another new market in Maiduguri.
“As a result of the remodelling, over 2,000 traders who either operated at a temporary site, built shops illegally on water ways, could not get shops in the market.
“However, the government will support over 185 of them with ₦1 million each, 2,000 others will get ₦300,000 each and about 640 will receive ₦100,000 each,” Zulum said.
