ECDA Laments Fire Incident At Eggon Community Secondary School
The leadership of the Eggon Cultural Development Association (ECDA) has expressed sadness over the fire incident that wrecked havoc in Eggon Community Secondary School, Nassarawa Eggon.
The fire incident which according to reports, started at about 6:45pm on Friday December 9, 2022, burnt down a block of five classrooms to ashes.
The affected classroom block was hitherto leased out to Delight College of Health Science and Technology, Nassarawa Eggon by ECDA. The college occupied the block and has been operating as a health institution for the past three years.
The unfortunate incident is coming barely one week after ECDA organized a N500 million fundraising for the total overhauling of the Eggon Community Secondary School, Nasarawa Eggon.
The appeal fund launch was specifically for the equiping of the school library, renovation of the decayed structures, fencing of the school, installation of internet facilities, improving on staff welfare and purchase of equipment for the school laboratory among others.
Mandy David Abuluya, the ECDA President while speaking on the incident said, “It is so sad because, today marks one week that ECDA organized a fundraising to renovate all the classes and to address the challenges confronting the school.
“Only to hear last night (Friday December 9th) that the only standing structure that will require no renovation was burnt down by fire.
“It is a pity, too sad that such is happening, and I am very sure that the Eggon people and any right thinking individual yearning for development are not happy with this.
“We are expecting to fix those delapidated classes, and even if we are to touch this burnt block, the repairs will not be much. But now, we are left with no option than to start almost from the scratch,” Abuluya said.
Although the ECDA President could not give details of damaged items, the affected block reportedly contained academic records, about 12 computers, a generator set, printer, a photocopy machine and other valuables.
He said, immediately he got the news of the fire incident in the school, he called the state office of the fire service for intervention.
“But unfortunately, the personnel of the service were not on ground to rescue the situation. When I called again, they said, they are on their way, only to discover that, they did not respond to the call, as the block was completely razed down by the fire.”
According to the ECDA President even at the time he was speaking, the fire service were yet to come and access the level of damage done in the school.
Abuluya who frowned at the development, said the ECDA was going to improve on the general security situation, and will expedite action in the fencing of the school to checkmate such occurrence in future.
He said, at the moment, the proprietor hired only one security guard to watch over the school, and with the development, he added, they are going to employ additional guards to intensify surveillance in and around the school.
The ECDA President then solicited the support of the State and local governments as well as spirited individuals to assist them in rebuilding the school to its former glory.
The ECDA Public Relations Officer, Umar Abdullahi Galle, who also spoke about the incident, said he sensed the handiwork if saboteurs, saying ECDA was going to engage the services of experts to conduct forensic analysis of the situation and to unravel the cause.
He explained that fire of such nature is unusual especially one that will spread simultaneously, even when there are no bushes around or electricity connected to the block.
Our correspondent observed that, the block of five class rooms was not connected to national grid, neither were there bushes at the surrounding that could have pointed to possible spread of wild fire of bush burning, even as the cause of the fire incident is yet to be ascertained.
Efforts to reach out to the state fire service, as at the time of filing this report to ascertain the cause proved abortive.
