FCT Minister Muhammad Bello has pledged to support the Abuja NEXT Cash and Carry Supermall to bounce back stronger than what it was before the December 26 fire incident. 

The minister made the pledge on Tuesday in Abuja while undertaking an on-the-spot assessment of the damage done to the shopping mall. 

“We will give them all the needed support so that they bounce back stronger than what they were before. We look forward to seeing you back to business in the no distant future,” he said.

Mr Bello recounted how during heat of the COVID-19 pandemic, the supermall “provided palliative items which we distributed to vulnerable members of the community.”

“I really sympathised with Next Cash and Carry Supermarket, particularly because during the heat of the COVID-19 it was among the foremost companies that provided tremendous support for the FCTA.

“Unfortunately, today they are also vulnerable, so it’s our duty in the city to rally round and protect this important investment that is a generator of many jobs in the city,” the minister added. 

He said the fire incident hit the city very hard as the facility was an important investment which generated many jobs for Abuja residents.

He, however, noted that “This particular incident brought out what is good about us as residents, everybody united and supported them.”

Commending the supermarket management for having fire fighting mechanisms that curtailed the inferno, the minister said experts were looking into the remote cause of the inferno.

(NAN)