The Federal Secretariat in Abuja was on Saturday gutted by fire, destroying multiple utility rooms from the second to the eighth floors of Block C
The incident, reportedly triggered by an explosion in the Electrical Utility Room on the third floor, primarily destroyed the office of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s Special Adviser on Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
Mallam Mohammed Ahmed, the Director of Communications at the Office of the Head of Civil Service of the Federation (OHCSF), confirmed the Saturday incident in a statement.
He said that prompt response teams from both the Federal and FCT Fire Services managed to bring the blaze under control around 5:00 pm.
“Around 2:30 p.m., today (Saturday), there was a fire incident at the Block C of the Federal Secretariat, Phase II, Abuja. The fire was triggered by an explosion from the Electrical Utility Room on the 3rd Floor of Block C being used as a Solar and Inverter Room by the present occupant, Office of the Special Adviser to the President on Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
“The incident, which was brought under control by the prompt response of personnel from the Federal, as well as the FCT Fire Services at about 5:00 pm, affected the Utility Rooms on the second to the eighth floors of the building,” Ahmed said.
He said that the Permanent Secretaries, Common Services Office-OHCSF, Mrs. Lydia S. Jafiya and Special Duties Office, Engr. Faruk Yusuf Yabo and Directors from the affected MDAs were on the ground, while the operation to contain the fire which caused substantial damage to multiple floors within the Federal Secretariat’s Block C lasted.
He added that authorities are currently investigating the cause of the explosion that initiated the fire, while efforts to assess the extent of the damage and potential loss of sensitive documents or equipment are underway.
