Fire razes LG secretariat, shops in Taraba

A fire outbreak has razed Wukari Local Government Secretariat in Taraba State, destroying offices, equipment and vital documents.

The incident occurred on Friday at about 4.30 pm at the secretariat in Wukari Local Government Area, about 320 kilometres from Jalingo, the state capital.

The cause of the fire had not been ascertained as of the time of filing this report.

It was gathered that the fire was not brought under control promptly, leading to the destruction of most of the buildings within the secretariat complex, with only the building housing the office of the chairman, located at the centre of the premises, spared.

Residents attributed the extent of the damage to the absence of functional firefighting facilities in the local government area.

Office furniture, equipment and important documents were completely destroyed in the inferno.

Similarly, more than fifteen shops were razed in Jalingo, the state capital, in another incident.

The affected shops included a veterinary drugs store and a chemist located near a Total filling station along Hammaruwa Road.

The fire at the shops reportedly started at about 3.50 am on Thursday and could not be controlled.

Some shop owners who live nearby were alerted and rushed to the scene.

A few of them were able to salvage part of their goods before the fire consumed the shops.

Reacting to the incident, the Chairman of Wukari Local Government, Bala Useni, expressed deep regret over the destruction caused by the fire.

He said the fire broke out at about 6.00 pm and that security personnel on duty alerted him after noticing the outbreak.

According to him, despite efforts to contain the situation, the fire raged for about three hours, destroying seven key administrative departments.

Useni said the inferno led to the loss of vital government documents and major infrastructure, noting that only the chairman’s block was not affected.

He added that the cause of the fire remains unknown and that a full investigation has been launched to determine its origin.

The chairman called on residents to remain calm, assuring that the local government, in collaboration with the Taraba State Government, is taking steps to ensure that administrative activities continue with minimal disruption.

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