John Shiklam in Kaduna
Officials of the Kaduna state Independent Electoral Commission (KAD-SIECOM), saturday escaped death following a fire incident that gutted the offices of the commission located along Sokoto road, Kaduna.
Chairman of the commission, Dr. Saratu Dikko while briefing newsmen about the incident, said no life was lost and no one sustained injuries. She said the fire occurred at about 10:30am on Saturday when members of the commission were holding an emergency meeting in her office.
The unfortunate incident occurred barely 20 days to the conduct of local government elections, slated for May 12.
Dikko said the fire started on the second floor and affected all the offices on the floor, including offices of the Chairman, Legal Department, Finance Department and the Conference room.
She said the cause of the incident was yet to be ascertained, adding that the State Fire Service and the police had commenced investigations. “The offices of Kaduna State Independent Electoral Commission this morning (yesterday), at about l0:30am, went up in flame on the 2nd floor.
“The cause of the fire is not yet known. The fire affected all the offices on the second floor, including the offices of the Chairman, the Legal Department, Finance Department and the Conference room. “
No life was lost and there were no injuries recorded.
“At the time the fire started, members of the Commission were in an emergency meeting in the Chairman’s office.
“The ground floor, first floor and stores were not affected by the ï¬re. Details of losses incurred will take a few days to determine. The fire service and police are investigating the immediate and remote causes of the fireâ€, she said in a statement she read to newsmen.
She however declined to respond to questions from journalists as to whether incident would affect the conduct of the council polls.
