The governor, who inspected the market alongside top government functionaries, expressed shock and sadness over the loss of goods worth millions of Naira.
He said that he would hold a meeting with leaders of the market to find common grounds on ways of resolving the travails of the market.
The governor also promised that his administration will come to the aid of victims of the inferno by providing palliatives within the shortest possible time.
He said: “I have seen the extent of destruction and I know how important this market is to the economy of Oyo State.
“I was here during the electioneering campaign and interacted with you. I want to let you know that the government will come to your aid.
“We won’t allow you to bear the brunt alone. So, I will ask the leadership to send your representatives. And by tomorrow (Monday), we will sit together and look at the immediate palliative we can do for you.
“The second thing is, I want all of you to go and think about it very well; is it time for us to move this market to a far more organized setting?
He asked leaders of the market to start compiling the list of shop owners who were affected by the fire, adding that “within the next one or two weeks the state will make a decision on the market generally.”
According to him, even if the market will remain in the present location, “we need to see how we can arrange ourselves such that this kind of thing won’t happen again.”
The President of the market traders, Mr Moruf Olanrewaju, took the governor and his entourage round the market to see the level of destruction.
Governor Makinde also sympathised with the victims of the inferno and promised to assist them.
It will be recalled that the auto spare parts market in Agodi, Ibadan, was razed by fire in the early hours of Saturday April 3, 2021.
The inferno was said to have started from the tyre section of the market before it spread to other parts of the market.
Though men of the state fire service responded promptly, they couldn’t curtail the raging fire as their trucks were unable to reach the interior of the market due to blockage of access road.