Speaker of Ondo State House of Assembly, Mr Olamide Oladiji, has described the fire outbreak, which occurred at Ondo East Local Government Secretariat and Ondo State Emergency Medical Service Agency (ODEMSA), both in Bolorunduro, as unfortunate.
Speaking during a visit to the scenes of the inferno on Friday, July 7 2023 to assess the situation, Oladiji described the incident as a big damage to the entire local government council.
He called on appropriate authorities to carry out necessary investigation into the fire outbreak, which he described as unprecedented, in order to know its immediate and remote causes.
“This local government belongs to all of us and it is our property. When we begin to set our property on fire, it signifies the beginning of the end. It means we don’t value what we have,” he said.
The speaker, who expressed displeasure over the rate at which some unscrupulous individuals went about destroying some local government belongings, warned that anybody found culpable would be made to face the full wrath of law.
Oladiji, who had earlier visited ODEMSA, where two ambulance vehicles were razed on Sunday, said that the incident could hinder the agency’s goals of saving lives.
Also speaking, a nurse in charge of the agency, Mrs Olawunmi Orogbemi, said that the fire also affected some parts of the building.
“We’re surprised because there was no petrol or battery in any of the vehicles. We have reported to the police station and our head office,” she said.
Earlier, the lawmaker representing Ondo East and Ondo West Federal Constituency in the House of Representatives, Mr Abiola Makinde, described the two incidents as unusual and strange.
Makinde, who said that the he was unhappy with what happened at the local government, described the inferno as a terrible thing to have happened to the peaceful council area.
Also speaking, the Chairman of Ondo East Local Government , Mr Olawale Akinkuotu, said he immediately called the Divisional Police Officer in the area after receiving a call at about 6:30 a.m. in respect of the fire outbreak.
Akinkuotu said that the local government secretariat had lost valuable items worth millions of naira to the inferno.
“It is regrettable that about 80 per cent of this building has been razed down.
“Basically, there shouldn’t be any fire outbreak here because we have not been having electricity supply in this area for the past 15 years and we have not been able to power our generator set for the past three months due to high cost of diesel.
“So, I perceive something sinister and that it might have been masterminded by some unscrupulous elements,” he said.
Commissioner for Culture and Tourism, Mr Wale Akinlosotu, also described the fire incident as disheartening and called on appropriate authorities to bring the perpetrators of the act to book.