No official records were lost to the Fire which gutted Nigeria’s Treasury House – the headquarters of the Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation in Abuja, Minister of State, Budget and National Planning, Clem Agba has confirmed.
He said the fire caused by a spark from one of Air conditioners on the 4th floor of the building at about 10am Wednesday was successfully put out by 25 fire trucks within 35 minutes.
“We have gone round the rooms and offices where the fire affected, and I am glad to report that our data Centre where all our records are kept are fully intact. There is no destruction, so we haven’t lost any record,” the minister told journalists.
The minister said besides, AGF office now operate digitally, assuring that though some documents were burnt, there is also a back up Centre outside Abuja to enable recovery in the event of any loss.
He however noted that the only damage to the data Centre is the exterior which houses the cooling units.
He said one of the immediate steps taken was to immediately shut down the data Centre since the cooling units are no longer cooling optimally and that a full scale professional investigation would be instituted.
“As a government I want to assure you that our records are intact, a few documents are burnt, we haven’t started recovery to check what actually burnt, but all our financial transactions are intact.
“We would be doing full scale investigation using the right professionals to determine exactly what happened,” Agba stated, further noting the only place affected is the unit from where MDAs capital releases are made.
Accountant General of the Federation, Ahmed Idris who equally spoke, confirmed there no casualties.
Idris also corroborated ministers comment that no document was lost.
He said, “For emphasis, our data Centre is intact, no harm in any way except for the cooling system which we are now working hard to put back to operation. We are also glad there is no casualty.
The AGF however did not immediately rule out a possibility of sabotage, but also assured of a thorough investigation.
Speaking to concerns that a critical office like the Treasury house does not have a robust fire service architecture, he said the plan to put up such a structure is part of the ongoing rehabilitation.
He said they are already putting up a sub-station for fire fighting adding that the building is adequately insured.
ONYINYE NWACHUKWU
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