Fire guts NTA building in Ilorin

By BIOLA AZEEZ, Ilorin

Late Tuesday night fire has destroyed offices and a conference hall at the Nigeria Television Authority (NTA), located along Fate Road, beside Shoprite Mall, Ilorin, Kwara State.

Tribune Online gathered that the ravaging fire started at about 11:30 pm as a result of an electric spark in one of the offices.

It was also gathered that three out of 28 offices in the premises and a conference hall were razed by the inferno.

A statement by the head of media and publicity of the state Fire Service, Hassan Hakeem Adekunle, in Ilorin on Wednesday, said that men of the fire service arrived four minutes after a call was put through to the fire station by one of the staff of the TV station.

“Although on getting to the incident, the raging fire was huge and it had occupied several places within the premises.

“Yet, we were able to put out the fire on time as a result of good technicality and adopted methods by the firemen present”, he said.

His Excellency, Governor Abdulrahman Abdulrasak was present at the scene and saw how seriously the able firemen were battling with the fire last night. The Commissioner for Works was also present at the scene ground.

Therefore, the Director of State Fire Service urged the general public (especially the public Office users) to imbibe the habit of switching off all their electrical appliances before leaving their various offices.

Meanwhile, Governor Abdulrahman Abdulrazaq has commiserated with the Nigeria Television Authority (NTA) over the fire incident that gutted some sections of its Ilorin Area Office late Tuesday night.

The governor, who was among the first responders around 1 a.m. on Wednesday, lamented the fire incident which could have destroyed the entire facility but for the combined interventions of the Federal and the State fire services.

“We commiserate with the NTA over this unfortunate incident. But the bright side is that no life was lost. Also, the quick intervention of the fire services helped to save not just the facilities but the adjoining estate which could have been affected,” according to a statement by the Chief Press Secretary to the governor, Rafiu Ajakaye.

“This incident again underscores the need for everyone to do more to prevent such in the future. We commend the alertness of those who quickly called the fire services and our firemen for their prompt response and professionalism. We will continue to do more to support not just the fire service but also all other emergency responders.

“Everybody must be more alert. Our fire service will continue to be proactive by not only putting out the fire but also educating the people. However, we urge citizens to also take a serious interest in how to curtail fire incidents which are becoming rampant.”

The governor, however, commended the NTA staff for their professionalism and the balanced coverage of his administration’s activities.

“As an administration, we will also be willing to offer whatever support we can within the confines allowed under the ethics of the trade (journalism),” the statement added. (Nigerian Tribune)