From Ismail Adamu
The Chamber of the Katsina State House of Assembly complex located in Katsina has been razed by fire which broke out in the early hours of Wednesday.
The Deputy Chief Whip of the House and Member representing Kankia Constituency, Salisu Rimaye, confirmed the incident to Radio Nigeria.
He said the Sergeant at Arms of the House discovered the raging inferno when he went to open the chamber to be cleaned for the business of the day.
The Deputy Chief Whip explained that some cleaners at the assembly started putting out the inferno with fire extinguishers in the building prior to the arrival of a reinforcement team from the state Fire Service department.
He commended the timely arrival of the team from the Government House Fire Station which was close to the Assembly complex, resulting in minimal damage from the inferno.
Salisu Rimaye noted that a team of electricians at the Assembly were investigating the cause of the fire which was yet to be ascertained.
Parts of the chamber affected by the inferno include the Speaker and Clerk’s desks, the press and guests’ gallery and the seats of some lawmakers.
Governor Aminu Masari who was at the complex for an on-the-spot assessment expressed his sympathy to the lawmakers and commended the prompt response by the state fire service department.
Our correspondent reports that the Katsina State House of Assembly has been on recess for a couple of weeks due to the ongoing strike by workers who are demanding financial autonomy from the executive arm.
The Katsina Assembly fire comes a month after the Katsina Central Market was razed by an inferno that destroyed goods worth billions of Naira.