The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has said the fire incident at its Kano office’s Data Processing Centre (DPC) would not affect its operations.

Festus Okoye, INEC National Commissioner and Chairman, Information and Voter Education Committee, stated this in a statement issued in Abuja on Tuesday.

Mr Okoye added that Riskuwa Shehu, the Kano State Resident Electoral Commissioner, on Tuesday, reported the fire at the DPC, located within the premises of the INEC’s office, at around 10.15 a.m before the Federal Fire Service put it out.

He explained that while the staff made spirited efforts to put out the fire using fire extinguishers, they were overwhelmed. It took the intervention of firefighters to stop the blaze.

“The physical items burnt include industrial printers used to print the voter register, laserjet printers, Dell and blade servers, desktop computers, laptops for training, inverters, and other accessories and fittings.

“Fortunately, all the data in the voter register for the state, as well as all other sensitive documents of the state office, are backed up offsite and, therefore, safe. They will be recovered swiftly.

“We assure members of the public that this incident will not in any way affect the operations of the commission,” he said.

Mr Okoye disclosed that investigations into the cause of the fire had commenced, and measures would be put in place to avoid a recurrence. 

He expressed appreciation for the concerns of the stakeholders over the incident. 

(NAN)