Fire breaks out at Ebonyi assembly ahead of sitting

Activities at the Ebonyi state house of assembly were almost disrupted on Tuesday due to a fire outbreak that engulfed parts of the account department of the legislative complex.

A staff of the assembly who spoke to TheCable under anonymity said that though no life was lost in the incident, belongings were destroyed.

He said the act could have been politically motivated in light of the crisis rocking the assembly.

“The intention of those behind this act was to frustrate the house and prevent members from sitting,” he said.

“But the house still sat and condemned the act. There has been a lot of problem in Ebonyi of late and there is a high suspicion that the group that is aggrieved sponsored the arson.”

However, Chris Anyanwu, the state police public relations officer, said it was too early to conclude on the cause of the act, saying that investigation was ongoing.

Anyanwu explained that some officers were deployed to the complex around 1:00am on Tuesday when a distress call was received.

“With the combined effort of the fire service, the fire was prevented from spreading to other parts of the assembly,” he told TheCable.

“The fire only gutted one-half of the account section (department) and did not envelope the hallow chambers as is being reported in some quarters.

“As I am talking to you, the investigative department of the police command has already started investigation and we must unravel the source of the inferno.”

The tensed political atmosphere in the state reached its height on February 11 when the assembly declared seats of four lawmakers vacant as a result of their defection to Labour Party.

All the 24 members of the assembly were elected on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

Currently, the house has commenced impeachment proceeding against Martin Elechi, governor of the state.

A panel has been set up to investigate allegations of financial misappropriation against him.