A section of the Podium Block at the Rivers State Secretariat Complex in Port Harcourt was gutted by fire on Monday evening, destroying properties.
The affected area included the section that houses the Rivers State Pension Board.
The Head of Service, Iyingi Brown, attributed the incident to an electrical fault.
Brown also said firefighters from the State Fire Service, Federal Fire Service, and the military jointly battled and eventually extinguished the fire.
The incident occurred just days after Governor Siminalayi Fubara dissolved the Rivers State Pension Board without giving any reason for the action.
Although no official link has been established between the board’s dissolution and the fire incident, the timing has raised public curiosity about whether the blaze was a coincidence or an attempt to destroy vital documents.
The police and the state government are expected to conduct a thorough investigation to determine the exact cause of the fire.
The Rivers State Government has not ruled out any possibilities, and an investigation will help to establish the facts surrounding the incident.
This incident comes after the governor’s recent warning to permanent secretaries who, according to him, acted below civil service standards during the period of emergency rule in the state.
The state government has assured that any officer found to have acted improperly will face consequences.
