RVHA To Probe Bonny Fire Incident

As part of measures to prevent fire outbreak in Rivers State, the State House of Assembly RSVA) has constituted a three-man adhoc committee to liaise with relevant government agencies in ascertaining the cause and level of destruction by the recent fire outbreak that rendered thousands of people homeless in Bonny island of the state.
The decision of the House followed a motion by the lawmaker representing Bonny Constituency, Hon. Abinye Pepple at the Assembly’s plenary session last Wednesday in Port Harcourt.
Members of the committee include Hon. Kelechi Nwogu Chairman, Hon. Christian Ahiakwu, member and the lawmaker representing Bonny Constituency, Hon. Abinye Pepple as member.
The Speaker of the House, Rt. Hon. Ikuinyi-Owaji Ibani, who announced the resolution of the House, urged the committee to also fiund out the action of the Ministry of Special Duties and that of National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) towards the inferno at Bonny island.
Ibani, who condemned the NEMA’s inaction on previous disasters and the recent Bonny fire outbreak, said its response to disasters in the state showed some bias.
He said NEMA, has on several occasions, failed to carry out its responsibility in Rivers State as opposed to its quick response to emergency cases in other parts of the country.
The Committee was given seven days to submit it’s report for urgent follow up on measures to prevent and to relieve the victims of the fire outbreak in Bonny.
Earlier, the mover of the motion Hon. Abinye Pepple had narrated how over a thousand persons were rendered homeless as a result of the inferno.
According to him, properties worth millions of Naira was destroyed during the incident .
He prayed the House to urgently direct both the Ministry of Special Duties and NEMA to intervene in providing solutions to the victims of the inferno.
The lawmaker who noted that Bonny Island is an economically strategic area to the nation, called for the establishment of well equipped Fire Service Station to check fire outbreak in the area.

Enoch Epelle