7 hours ago
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Many students of Comprehensive Senior Secondary school in Ndiwo Itumbauzo, Bende LGA of Abia State, have been stranded following a fire outbreak which gutted the school building on Sunday.
A PTA staff, Mr. Christopher Sunday, who witnessed the fire said it took place at about 10:00 am when residents of the community had gone to church, explaining that the classrooms were already locked at the time of the inferno.
Sunday who said that members of the community had to break the classrooms to salvage a few desks, regretted that there was no water which made the fire to spread to some nearby farmlands around the school.
Speaking on the development, the Principal of Comprehensive Senior Secondary School, Uweola Onukwuo, said the building that was razed by the fire houses SS1, SS2, SS3 classrooms, the staff room, laboratory and hall.
Onukwo said the school management has made an arrangement for the classes affected to move into an old building as a temporary measure even though it is not befitting.
He also said he is going to make an official complaint to the education authorities in Ohafia and Umuahia on the development.
The mayor of Bende local government area, Deacon Bassey Uwabunkeonye said the council will liaise with the community to ensure that the students are provided with a good place pending the state government’s intervention, adding that the cause of the fire would be unraveled.
He also admitted that the council might consider having a fire truck to serve such purposes since Umuahia and Ohafia are far from the local government.
The crown prince of the community, Prince Innocent Iniewe appealed to the state government to assist in the reconstruction of the destroyed building.
When contacted by DAILY POST on Friday, Chief Fire Officer of Abia State, Arua Nnanna said the fire outbreak has not been reported to his office, even as he said that the state government has plans to establish fire fighting units in different LGAs, in partnership with local government authorities.
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