Governor Seyi Makinde of Oyo State has sympathised with gospel singer and broadcaster Yinka Ayefele after a fire gutted Fresh FM in Ibadan on Friday night.
In a statement by his chief press secretary Suleimon Olanrewaju, Makinde described the incident as unfortunate and thanked God that no life was lost.
He said, “I commiserate with my brother and friend, Dr Yinka Ayefele, the chairman of Fresh FM, as well as the management and staff of the radio station, over the unfortunate incident. We thank God that no life was lost to the inferno. This too shall pass and Fresh FM will bounce back better and stronger.”
The fire, which broke out around 7:30 pm at the station’s headquarters located inside Music House, Challenge area of Ibadan, destroyed facilities including Fresh 105.9 FM, Blast 98.3 FM, the newsroom, server room and broadcast equipment.
Fresh FM spokesman Samson Akindele confirmed the incident, saying, “We are sad to inform the general public that the Head Office of Fresh FM Nigeria, Challenge – Ibadan, was razed by a devastating fire incident this evening, August 15, 2025.”
He added, “We can’t immediately quantify the extent of the damage caused by the devastating inferno, the cause of which is also yet to be ascertained presently.”
Akindele explained that efforts by staff to contain the fire with in-house extinguishers failed, but passersby and officials of the Oyo State Fire Service later joined in putting out the flames.
Eyewitnesses also shared videos of the incident on social media. A staff member of the station, Arugboboisi, posted on X, “Fresh FM is currently on fire! We urgently need the Fire Service to respond immediately. Please retweet, spread the word and alert the nearest station.”
Founded in 2015 by Ayefele, Fresh FM has since expanded from Ibadan to other cities including Abeokuta, Ado-Ekiti, Akure, Osogbo, Lagos and Ilorin.
