Part of Kachikwu’s House Gutted by Fire

Chineme Okafor in Abuja

A part of the residence of the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Dr. Ibe Kachikwu, located within the highbrow Asokoro district of Abuja was on Sunday evening gutted by fire that was ignited by an electrical accident, THISDAY has learnt.

It was gathered that the first responders and security personnel who were on ground at the time of the incident were able to put out the fire. However, sources close to the development said that no casualties or huge losses were recorded from the fire outbreak.

Kachikwu was also said to be out of town when the fire incident happened, but it was not clear if he was back to Abuja as calls put across to his media aide, Mr. Uche Adighibe, did not go through. Adighibe’s mobile number was switched off.

Recently, Kachikwu had been in the news after he wrote a petition to President Muhammadu Buhari against the Group Managing Director of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), Maikanti Baru, over how the latter runs the corporation. The petition was leaked to the public, and has since generated lots of reactions.

“Yes, a part of the minister’s residence was burnt on Sunday. It was as a result of an electrical fault in a part of the building, but he was not at home when that happened, so no casualties or whatsoever,” said the source.

Details later…