15th May, 2015
Prof. Viola Onwuliri, the Minister of State for Education, said on Friday that fire did not gut her ministry on May 14, contrary to media reports.
NAN recalls that staffers and visitors at the Phase 3 of the Federal Secretariat were evacuated on Thursday, May 14, as smoke engulfed the building.
But reacting to the incident, Onwuliri said there were no flames as the smoke was quickly put off, noting that some media reports on the issue were sensationalised.
She expressed her feelings at the unveiling of the Final Report of Key Achievements of the 4-Year Strategic Plan for the Development of the Education Sector: 2011- 2015.
The minister said that the reports portrayed that fire destroyed the secretariat, including the Accounts Section of the education ministry.
“It is annoying that some section of the media reported that fire gutted the ministry.
“There was an incident but nobody can say he saw flames; it was just smoke; fortunately for us, firefighters were alerted and they responded promptly.
“So, the Accounts Section was not burnt as reported; nobody was harmed; property was not destroyed,” Onwuliri explained.
A NAN correspondent who visited the Federal Secretariat reports that normalcy has returned as workers were seen carrying out their normal duties.