The fire incident on Monday evening at Rivers State secretariat, Port Harcourt, has come as another sour taste in the mouth, adding to allegations of shady deals perpetrated by some highly placed civil servants during the emergency regime in the state.
Although the cause of the fire has not been established, the state Head of Service, Dr. Inyingi Brown alluded to an electrical fault as the likely cause of the fire in a statement issued from the office of the secretary to the state government.
However, this is one incident Governor Siminalayi Fubara may not handle with kid gloves as he had openly shown his displeasure with government officials over their alleged complicity in facilitating the looting of the state during the emergency regime.
In the coming days, it would not come as a surprise if the governor orders a probe of the fire incident with his sledgehammer awaiting to descend on any official(s) who may be linked to the fire.
The governor had already warned that all those who aided the looting of the state during the emergency regime should get ready to face the consequences.
Meanwhile, the Head of the State Civil Service, Dr. Inyingi Brown, has said there were no casualties during the fire incident that occurred at the State Secretariat Complex on Monday.
In a statement signed by Juliana Masi, head of press, office of the secretary to the state government, the head of service disclosed that on noticing the fire outbreak, the state fire service and other agencies were promptly called to contain the inferno.
“We were informed that there was a fire incident at the right wing, ground floor of Podium Block, and we immediately we made calls to the River State Fire Service, and they responded promptly.
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“We also called other partners of the state, such as Renaissance, Federal Fire Service, and the military, who all promptly sent their fire trucks.
“It was a combined effort, and as we speak, you can see that the fire has been contained,” she stated.
“We thank God, and we thank His Excellency, Sir Siminalayi Fubara, for being proactive in rehabilitating the fire service before this time.
“If not for his investment in the fire service, this situation would have been worse,” she stressed.
She disclosed that no life was lost, even though the state medical service was on the ground to curtail any emergency.
She explained that preliminary reports suggest the fire may have been as a result of electrical faults and thereby called on all civil servants to be responsible in putting off all electrical services at the close of work.
“We urge all civil servants to take responsibility for safety. Turn off our sockets and our lights. Not just putting off the sockets, but unplugging to ensure there is no residual charge because these buildings are heritage buildings and we don’t want anything to happen to them,” she admonished.
Dr. Brown further assured that Gov. Fubara was working on measures to refurbish the secretariat buildings, which will be made known soon.
