14th November, 2022
By Ifeanyi Olannye
The Delta Government has dismissed reports that Stephen Keshi Stadium in Asaba was destroyed by fire on Sunday.
Mr Charles Aniagwu, the State Commissioner for Information, clarified to newsmen at the scene of the incident, that the alleged fire was blown out of proportion by reports in the social media.
He explained that the incident had nothing to do with the stadium complex, but rather with some condemned roofing sheets that were removed.
Aniagwu confirmed that the fire was not caused by any electrical connection or picture of any presidential candidate, as “mischievously” reported by the man who recorded the video in circulation.
However, he warned that social media was meant to add value to the information value chain and that it should not be used to score cheap political points.
According to him, the fire was caused by the drop from the welder’s electrode, which fell on the condemned roofing sheets on the ground.
“I told you a few days ago that we are undertaking some renovations on this facility, and while the welder was very busy working upstairs, the electrode, which was actually more like a spark coming from the iron, fell on the condemned roofing sheets on the ground and caught fire.
“The fire did not affect the stadium itself, but unfortunately the heat that emanated from the fire melted some of the cladding on the walls of the stadium, not that the stadium itself caught fire.”
“It is the condemned roofing sheets that were removed from the roof, which have become more like waste and were yet to be evacuated from the premises of the stadium.
“The fire was extinguished by the workers on the ground even before the arrival of the state fire service.”
“Evil propaganda does not do anybody any good.” We do know that we are in a period of intense politicking but to begin to wish the state evil does not, in any way, give us results.
“I say so because the nature of the propaganda emanating from a lot of activities in recent times is alarming.
“It is important to note that once the state successfully hosts the National Sports Festival, it is to the glory of everybody in Delta.”
“Delta will benefit from transportation, entertainment, tourism, and many other things associated with hosting events of that magnitude,” Aniagwu said.
He pleaded with Deltans to shun politics and support the state government in its efforts to host a world-class sports festival.
“As much as social media is wonderful and desirable, individuals must not continue to deploy it for negative reasons because the way it was reported is not what happened,” he said.
NAN