The Federal Ministry of Finance has addressed the fire incident that occurred at its headquarters located in the Central Business District of Abuja, the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).
TheNewsGuru.com (TNG) reports the Federal Ministry of Finance as saying the fire incident happened on the corridor in the basement of the ministry’s building and that it only affected an isolated battery pack.
“The Federal Ministry of Finance HQ is not on fire as reported on social media. Rather, there was an incident on the corridor in the basement involving an isolated battery Pack (photo inset).
“It was quickly put out by the security personnel on duty,” a tweet emanating from the official Twitter handle of the ministry reads.
NewsFlash: The Federal Ministry of Finance HQ is not on fire as reported on social media. Rather, there was an incident on the corridor in the basement involving an isolated battery Pack (photo inset). It was quickly put out by the security personnel on duty. #FinMinNigeria pic.twitter.com/aNDzwF7kOc
— Federal Ministry of Finance (@FinMinNigeria) February 23, 2022
Meanwhile, the Federal Fire Service (FFS) has confirmed that the huge smoke emanating from the Federal Ministry of Finance was caused by a spark on inverter batteries.
The FFS Public Relations Officer (PRO), Mr Paul Abraham, who made the confirmation, said: “To firefighters, there could be a smoke without fire but to civilians, every smoke is caused by fire”.
He said that when the service received a report of the fire outbreak, it deployed a team to the ministry to put the fire under control.
“We got the call at about 7 a.m. and immediately sent our men from three stations – Garki, Federal Secretariat and Wuse.
“The situation is totally under control and did not disturb the business of the day,’’ he said.
Similarly, the spokesman for the Federal Ministry of Finance, Budget and National Planning, Mr Olajide Oshundun, also confirmed that it was only the battery room in the ministry that was affected.
Oshundun told newsmen at the ministry that the fire emanated from an exploded battery which affected16 other batteries.
“Only the battery room compartment at the basement of the ministry was affected; the fire did not affect any other part of the ministry
“Necessary alarm was raised and the fire was put under control in about 20 minutes later,’’ Oshundu said.