The Chamber of the Katsina State House of Assembly has been razed by fire. The fire was said to have occurred in the early hours of Wednesday, April 21.
This was just as traders at the popular Katsina Central Market are yet to recover from the shock of the inferno that destroyed billions of naira worth of goods and property, with over 1,000 shops affected.
The Chamber of the Assembly which was recently renovated and given a face lift by the state government, is not a shadow of its own.
Giving the account on how the fire incident occurred, the Deputy Chief Whip of the House and the Member representing Kankia Constituency, Salisu Rimaye, said no one can say the real cause.
According to him, the Assembly got to know about the incident when the Clerk of the House instructed the Sergeant at Arms, to go clean up the chamber.
Rimaye further said that it was when the Sergeant at Arms opened the chamber, that he discovered the fire.
He also said that a team of electricians at the Assembly have begun processes to ascertain the real cause, which he attributed to possible electrical appliance fault, especially the air conditioners which were left on.
The Deputy Chief Whip noted that though no fire station is located within the premises of the Assembly, the Government House Fire Station extended its services to the Assembly.
He hinted that the fire extinguishers in the Assembly were used to put off the fire before the men of the state’s fire service came to the rescue, resulting in the minimal damage recorded.
From observations by reporters inside the chamber, the fire may have started from behind the Speaker’s seat, which was completely burnt.
Other areas affected by the incident are the Press and Guests’ Gallery, as well as some seats of some members of the Assembly.
As of the time of the visit to the Assembly, Governor Aminu Masari had come for an on-the-spot assessment of the incident, where he sympathised with the Deputy Chief Whip and other principal officers of the Assembly.
The House is also said to be on recess due to the strike by the workers over demand for financial autonomy from the executive arm of government.
