The Conference of Speakers of State Legislatures of Nigeria (CoSAP) has called for an immediate investigation into the fire that gutted the Kogi Assembly Complex last week Monday in Lokoja.
Mr Abubakar Sulaiman, Chairman of the CoSAPmade the call in a statement issued by his media aide, Mr Abdul Bura in Bauchi.
Recall that on Monday, Oct. 10, the assembly was razed by an early morning fire, which began in the middle of the night, but security agents were able to notice it at about 7.00 a.m.
The conference expressed shock over the ugly fire incident.
Sulaiman, who is the Speaker of Bauchi State House of Assembly, sympathised with his Kogi State counterpart Mr Matthew Kolawole, over the fire incident.
The chairman called on relevant authorities to investigate the incident to unravel what triggered the fire with a view to forestalling its recurrence.
“All culprits must be prosecuted after the investigation. We pray against the recurrence of such unfortunate incident,” he said.
The chairman advised members of the Kogi assembly to remain calm and resolute over the incident and allow an investigation to take place.
Kolawole and the state security adviser, Jerry Omodara, were among the early callers at the assembly complex.
Kolawole, who spoke to newsmen, said he suspected sabotage, but did not mention where the suspected sabotage was coming from.
“We should leave security people to do their work and give us a report going forward,” the speaker said.
Also, the State Commissioner for Information, Kingsley Fanwo, in a statement noted that security and technical experts have begun work to unravel the cause of the inferno, which had caused significant damage to the complex.
“As new findings emerge, the state government will notify the general public,” he said.
He added that the state government will also make provisions for temporary arrangements to ensure that the legislative business is not completely halted as a result of the unfortunate incident.
