The Independent National Electoral Commission has doused apprehension over the fire incident which gutted its offices in Abuja with an assurance that reports of party primaries and conventions remained intact.
The commission said that apart from some office furniture and equipment, nothing sensitive was destroyed.
INEC National Commissioner and Chairman of its Information and Voter Education Committee, Festus Okoye, gave the assurances in a statement on Friday.
According to him, the campaign finance database was also not affected, adding that the incident will therefore not affect the administrative or technical operations of the commission in any way.
The statement entitled: “Fire incident at INEC Headquarters”, reads: “At 11.30am today April 17 2020, a fire outbreak occurred at a section of the building housing the Election and Party Monitoring Department and the Media Centre. The building is an annexe, detached from the main building of the INEC Headquarters.
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“Fire fighters attached to the commission swiftly responded to contain the inferno and they were later joined by their colleagues from the Federal Fire Service Headquarters in the Federal Capital Territory. The fire was extinguished within a short period of time and did not cause any substantial damage to the building.
“Apart from some office furniture and equipment, nothing sensitive was destroyed. Reports of party primaries and conventions are intact. The campaign finance database is also not affected. The incident will therefore not affect the administrative or technical operations of the commission in any way. Meanwhile, investigation into the cause(s) of the fire incident has commenced.”