The Governor of Abia State, Dr. Okezie Ikpeazu, has expressed his sympathy to the management and staff of the Federal Radio Corporation of Nigeria (FRCN) over the fire incident that gutted the PacestterFM office in Umuahia yesterday.
The FM radio station, a substation of FRCN, was gutted by fire through an electric power surge that burnt the acoustics in the studio room and later spread to other offices of the station.
Governor Ikpeazu who was represented by his Chief Press Secretary, Mr. Godwin Adindu, inspected the scene of fire this morning and conveyed his sympathy and that of the Abia State government over the unfortunate incident which is happening at time when the radio station has re-engineered its services for better quality delivery.
The Governor who was received by the Zonal Manager of the FRCN from the Enugu Zonal Office, Mr. Ike Okere, lamented the huge loss both on equipment, facilities and building occasioned by the fire outbreak but also thanked God that no life was lost.
He noted that the Umuahia PacestterFM station has been a partner with the government in engagement with the public through effective communication of government policies and programmes and regretted that Abians and other listeners from neigbouring states will be denied the opportunity of its rich services as the station will be off air for a while.
Governor Ikpeazu also noted that the station has been very supportive to his government right from the period of the political campaigns and through his 200 days in office and has very well projected the state-sponsored programme, Abia Today, which runs on the station every Thursday.
Governor Ikpeazu also commended the parent body, FRCN, for maintaining its national outlook and for its consistent approach towards national development, using the instrument of communication.
He also used the occasion to remind other organizations and individuals in the state to take urgent steps to forestall such fire incidents by taking necessary precaution that will help in checkmating all manners of natural disasters.