A mysterious fire burnt part of the basement of the Podium Block of the Rivers State Secretariat complex today.
The fire, which sent workers scampering for safety caught just as workers were closing from work.
Intervention of Rivers State Fire Service and other emergency agencies helped to put out the fire after about an hour of continuous burning.
The Head of Service of the state, Dr. Inyingi Brown, however attributed the fire to electrical fault.
The incident attracted a large crowd of sympathisers to the scene. The state government had promised to rehabilitate the complex for many years now. Lavatories and other places in the rest room do not have water to flush the toilets. The water used are filled by itinerary water hawkers who carry water to the tenth and other floors in the Podium Block.
Governor Siminalayi Fubara had after resuming office accused some permanent secretaries of compromising their offices under the emergency rule period that just ended.
