Sequel to the fire outbreak that occurred at the INEC headquarters on Friday, the INEC National Commissioner and Chairman of its Information and Voter Education Committee, Festus Okoye, has said that nothing sensitive was lost to the fire.
According to the INEC Commissioner, the incident will not affect the administrative or technical operations of the commission, as reports of party primaries and campaign data base are intact.
In a statement entitled “Fire incident at INEC Headquarters”, Okoye said:
“At 11.30am today April 17 2020, 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 annexe, detached from the main building of the INEC Headquarters.
“Fire fighters attached to the commission 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. The fire was extinguished within a short period of time and did not cause any substantial damage to the building.
“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. Meanwhile, investigation into the cause(s) of the fire incident has commenced.”
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The Independent National Electoral Commission’s Media Center had been gutted by fire on Friday, April 17.
The PUNCH gathered from the INEC National Commissioner and Chairman of its Information and Voter Education Committee, Festus Okoye, that there was a fire outbreak on Friday morning.
PUNCH quoting the INEC commissioner said;
“Yes, it’s true, there was a fire. I’m going to the office to find out what happened. I will get back to you.”