Fire Guts Ogun Gov’s Office

A section of the office of Governor Ibikunle Amosun at Okemosan, Abeokuta, the Ogun State capital, southwest Nigeria, was gutted by fire Monday.

The fire destroyed computers and other office equipment.

But for the timely intervention of the men of the Fire Service, the incident would have caused a major havoc.The incident, which occurred at about 12 noon affected the old Protocol Officers’ office on the first floor of the Governor’s Office.It caused panic among workers who started shouting and running away from their offices. 

Fire service officials, our correspondent gathered, arrived at about 12.35pm and entered the Governor’s Office through the backyard before gaining access to the scene of the fire and succeded in putting it out.Shortly after, the governor and other members of his cabinet went to  the scene to assess the extent of damage. 

Smoke was still billowing during the visit of the governor,which made most of them cover their noses to avoid inhaling the smoke.Addressing newsmen at the scene of the incident, the Ogun State Head of Service, Mrs. Modupe Adekunle said the fire outbreak was caused by power surge from the independent power plant which supplies electricity to the Governor’s Office complex. 

According to her, “it was a power surge from the air conditioner. It (power) came suddenly. There were some officers in that Office, so when they saw it, they tried all means to put out the fire. The only things affected there were just some set of computers. 

“The cause of the fire might be from the Independent Power Supply or Public Power Supply since we do not have generator there. But we thank God that the damage was very minimal.”Meanwhile, a statement by the office of the State Ministry of Information and Strategy, which was signed by the Commissioner, Alhaji Yussuph Olaniyonu, thanked God that no life was lost. 

He reirteratd government’s desire to ensure that such incident does not happen again and advised the staff to prevent such in future.The statement reads in part,”….The governor has ordered the Head of Service to ensure strict compliance with the schedule of monthly fire drills in all offices of various Ministries, Departments and Agencies in the state. 

“The exercise,according to the governor, will enable all workers to familiarise themselves with the use of the fire extinguishers which the government had purchased. It will also enable the workers know how to take appropriate preventive measures when faced with emergency situations. 

“The governor noted that the fact that God has been kind to the state as it rarely experiences fire incidents, demanded that people should be vigilant and constantly get ready to act positively in case of emergency.”