The Ebonyi State House of Assembly complex was on Tuesday razed by a mysterious fire, suspected to be the handiwork of arsonists.
Our correspondent learnt that the entire legislative complex would
have been gutted by the fire, which reportedly started around 1.15am,
but for the intervention of a combined team of men of the fire service
and the police force, who were able to put off the flames.
But the fire had already destroyed sections of the building before it was put out.
The finance, supply and accounts sections were completely razed,
with items, including financial records, furniture, computer sets,
refrigerators, air conditioners, ceiling and standing fans and other
valuabes worth millions of Naira, destroyed.
Police Public Relations Officer, Ebonyi State Police Command, Chris
Anyanwu, said the police had launched investigations in a bid to get to
the root of the incident.
He said, “We got a distress call from the police officer in charge
of the House of Assembly complex that there was fire outbreak in the
area.
“We dispatched our men to this place and they were led by the Commissioner of Police, Dikko Maigari.
“With the combine effort of men of the fire service and police force, the fire was put off.
“As you can see, the account section of the Assembly has been razed and it is the only wing that was affected by this inferno.
“The Department of Investigation of the police command has
commenced their investigation and as soon as they unravel the cause of
the inferno, we will update you.”
As of the time of filing this report, a team of security agents,
comprising the police, the Department of State Service, and the Nigeria
Security and Civil Defence Corps, had cordoned off the House of
Assembly complex.
However, the camp of the Deputy Governor and Peoples Democratic
Party governorship candidate, Chief Dave Umahi, has alleged that
Governor Martins Elechi’s loyalists were behind the act.
Umahi had wrested the control of the PDP structure in Ebonyi State
from Elechi, and emerged the party’s standard bearer despite the
governor’s opposition.
Elechi had backed former Health Minister, Prof. Onyebuchi Chukwu,
although the aspirant, and the governor’s supporters, boycotted the
primaries where Umahi emerged.
Following their failure to actualise their interests in the PDP, Elechi’s supporters moved to the Labour Party.
Meanwhile, the Ebonyi State House of Assembly, led by the Speaker, Chukwuma Nwanzuku, went ahead to sit on Tuesday,
where it suspended two members – the Deputy Speaker, Blaise Orji, and
Oliver Nwachukwu – both of whom are believed to be Elechi’s loyalists.
Efforts to get a response from the Chief Press Secretary to the
Governor, Dr. Onyekachi Eni, were not successful as of the time of
filing this report.
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