INEC headquarters annex building in flames
2nd LEAD
.No cause for alarm, says Electoral umpire
.PDP raises alarm over spate of fire outbreaks in govt offices
Another fire incident was recorded in Abuja within a week as a building within the premises of the Independent National Electoral Commission’s headquarters, in Maitama caught fire on Friday.
This was confirmed in a statement issued on Friday by Barrister Festus Okoye, National Commissioner and Chairman, Information and Voter Education Committee.
According to the statement, “at 11.30am, a fire outbreak occurred at a section of the building housing the Election and Party Monitoring Department and the Media Centre. The building is an annex, detached from the main building of the Independent National Electoral Commission’s headquarters”.
Fire fighters attached to the Commission were said to have swiftly responded to contain the inferno and they were later joined by their colleagues from the Federal Fire Service headquarters in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).
He said the fire was extinguished within a short period of time and did not cause any substantial damage to the building.
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“Apart from some office furniture and equipment, nothing sensitive was destroyed. Reports of party primaries and conventions are intact. The campaign finance database is also not affected. The incident will therefore not affect the administrative or technical operations of the Commission in any way”, said Okoye.
Okoye said investigation into the cause(s) of the fire incident has commenced.
Meanwhile, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) sais it is alarmed over the recent spate of fire outbreaks at key Federal Government agencies and departments, particularly in Abuja, the nation’s capital.
The party expressed shock over the disquieting fire disaster at the head office of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) in Abuja, on Friday, in which valuable equipment and documents related to electoral and political party monitoring were destroyed.
The PDP described the situation as unsettling, recalling that only last Wednesday, the headquarters of the Office of the Accountant General of the Federation in Abuja was gutted by fire, followed by another inferno at the head office of the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) just two days ago.
A statement by party spokesperson, Kola Ologbondyan said: “Our party is deeply worried and hopes that this spate of fire outbreaks is not a coordinated design by sinister elements against demands for due process and accountability in our country, as already being insinuated in the public space.
“The PDP therefore restates its demand for a forensic investigation into the fire outbreaks in the Office of the Accountant General of the Federation, the CAC and now INEC, as the spate of occurrence has become alarming.
“Furthermore, our party strongly charged the Federal Government to immediately ensure necessary precautionary and security measures to safeguard all our Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) to avert such ugly incidences.
“The PDP notes that our nation can no longer afford any more fire incident in our key institutions as such will be distressing to the polity, which is already under pressure occasioned by dwindling economy and the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic”.
