Following the fire outbreak at the Secretariat of Ondo East Local Government in Ondo state, the Speaker of the House of Assembly, Rt Hon Olamide Oladiji, has described the fire incident as unfortunate, urging the authorities of the council to accept it as the will of God.
The council secretariat and the State Emergency Medical Services Agency (ODEMSA) located in the same area were affected by the inferno which occurred in the early hour of Thursday, which razed down the two complexes and two ambulances
Also, the offices of the Chairman, Vice Chairman, and Association of Local Governments of Nigeria (ALGON) were also affected by the fire incident.
The Speaker, during the on-the-spot assessment of the area, expressed disappointment that the fire had completely brought down the image and monument in the Council.
Oladiji called on the security agents to investigate the causes of the incident and ensure perpetrators are brought to book while he assured the workers whose offices have been badly damaged by the inferno that the House of Assembly will do all within its powers to renovate the offices.
Also reacting, the lawmaker representing Ondo East/ West, Hon. Abiola Makinde, member, said the incident was unusual and was not happy with the situation, saying the local government is expecting development and not destruction.
Chairman of the Local Government, Olawale Akinkuotu, explained that “this morning l received a call in respect of a fire incident in the Secretariat. I called the DPO immediately to the scene, and he confirmed that it was a serious fire outbreak and immediately went to the fire service in Ondo to mobilize them.
“Virtually, 80 percent of the building has been razed down. The fire services tried their efforts, and this is how far they have been able to save the situation. It was a very shocking occurrence.
“Basically, there should not be any fire outbreak here because we don’t have electricity in the local government for the past 15 years, so the issue of electrical fault is totally out of it, and because of the cost of diesel, we have not powered our generator for the past three months. So, I foresee hidden agenda by some unscrupulous elements.”
The Commissioner for Culture and Tourism and former Chairman of the Council, Wale Akinlosotu, described the act as very disheartening, adding that those behind it must be brought to book.
A staff of ODEMSA, Mrs Olawunmi Orogbemi, narrated that the incident happened at around 1:42 am and said, “I met these two ambulances burnt. We have another Hilux, a part of it got burnt as well, but it was quickly taken away from the scene.
”The fire affected part of the building. We got the ambulances in 2014, but we haven’t used them in the last three years, there’s no petrol or battery in the ambulances.
“The case has been reported to the police station and to the head office”
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