Fubara: ‘We Won’t Wait Till 2027’ – Nigerians React as Fire Guts Rivers Secretariat Complex 

Governor Siminalayi Fubara has reacted to the fire that engulfed a section of the Rivers State Secretariat Complex on Monday evening, October 6, which destroyed some properties.

The fire was said to have started after office hours on the ground floor of the Podium Block and damaged part of the nine-storey building.

Fubara dissolves Rivers’ pension board

The fire outbreak came barely a week after the governor announced the dissolution of the Rivers State Pensions Board. It was gathered that the office of the board was not affected, despite being close to section of the complex gutted by the inferno.

According to The Punch, Governor Fubara and the immediate past administration of the state, Vice Admiral Ibok-Ete Ibas (retd.), recently approved funds for the renovation of the secretariat.

Addressing the fire incident on behalf of the governor, the state head of service, Inyinge Brown, explained that the fire was a result of an electric fault and that there was no casualty.

Brown further explained that operatives of the Rivers State Fire Service, the Federal Fire Service, Renaissance, and the military swiftly responded to the situation to stop the blaze.

Nigerians react to Rivers fire incident

The video of the fire incident that emerged on social media has started generating mixed reactions from Nigerians. Below are some of their reactions:

Foundational Ijesa man wrote: “Because the governor says head go roll, perm secs done move into action. If we can’t solve the civil service problem, Nigeria can never be free.”

Victor Oliseh blamed the situation on corruption: “If you know how deep corruption is in this country, we won’t wait till 2027 before we decide to pay this bunch of evil beings their rewards.”

SafetyOne condemned people near the fire: “See people inhaling toxic smoke like it’s nothing. ‘People push for lack of knowledge’ Inhaling CO-contained smoke can kill you in 5 minutes, especially for someone with underlying health issues who is probably in that crowd.”

Tal Ebraheem John commented: “This tells you how insurgency, banditry, kidnapping, killings and other sundries thrive in a country.”

Mohammed Inde commented: “Records which Fubara set eyes on as evidence are gone! So none of the perm sects would be unhappy.”