An activist, Solomon Lenu, has accused some civil servants of orchestrating the fire incident that gutted parts of the Rivers State Secretariat in Port Harcourt late Monday night.
Lenu, who is the Convener of the Ogoni Development Drive (ODD), described the incident as an act of sabotage allegedly carried out by corrupt officials seeking to destroy evidence of misconduct during the state’s six months of emergency rule.
In a statement on Tuesday, he said, “As soon as the governor hinted that he knows who did what and how, and that everyone would answer for their actions, some of you ran to burn part of the Secretariat to conceal evidence of your crime.”
Governor Siminalayi Fubara, who visited the scene on Tuesday morning, described the fire as “unfortunate” but thanked God that no life was lost.
“I came here this morning to see for myself what happened yesterday. It’s really unfortunate, but we give God all the glory that no life was lost and the damage was only in one section,” he said.
The governor assured that the incident would fast-track his administration’s plan to renovate and refurbish the ageing Secretariat Complex.
“We’ve been talking about the renovation of our foremost secretariat. With this incident, there should be no further delay.
Whatever is required by this government to commence that process, we will immediately swing into action,” Fubara added.
He commended firefighters for their prompt response, noting that recent investments by his administration in the state’s fire service helped in containing the situation.
Governor Fubara also praised civil servants for their resilience and assured them of his government’s continued commitment to their welfare.