The Rivers State Civil Service Union has alleged that sabotage might not be ruled out from a fire outbreak that gutted the ground floor of the Podium block of the State Secretariat Complex Monday evening.
The ground floor of the block houses Audit and Pension units while the top side houses the Ministry of Establishment.
Eye witness account said the fire started around 4.30 pm, a few minutes to close of work, as workers and other people ran to douse the fire overly late arrival of fire services.
Meanehile, State Chairman of State Civil Service Union. Comrade Chukukah Osumah has expressed fears that the incident may not be disconnected from act of sabotage.
He said”, in my years of service and as a civil servant, I have not seen anything like this. This has not happened before.”
The civil service union leader claimed that an act of sabotage may be linked to the fire.
His claim may be a result of the State Governor declaration of investigating some activities of civil servants and complicity during the six months emergency rule.
On her part, Head of Service,Dr. Inyingi Brown attributed the incidence to electrical fault, as no life was lost, and thanked the governor for reviving the state fire service that helped to douse the fire.
About five fire services from Shell, Federal , Agip, and the state battled to put out the fire.
