The Federal Mortgage Bank of Nigeria, FMBN, has assured customers, stakeholders and the general public that its operations remain uninterrupted after a fire incident that affected part of its headquarters in Abuja over the weekend.
The fire on Saturday at the bank’s head office in the Central Business District of Abuja, affected the upper section of the building as emergency responders tried to contain the situation.
A Facebook user, Praises Chukwu, who shared photos from the scene, said the fire appeared to be spreading across the top floor of the building as firefighters worked to bring it under control.
“Mortgage Bank of Abuja, opposite CBN, currently on fire. The fire service team are putting up their best to take it out, but the fire seems to be spreading across the top floor of the building,” Chukwu wrote.
At the time of the incident, the cause of the fire was unknown, and there were no immediate reports of casualties or the extent of damage recorded.
Emergency responders, however, succeeded in preventing the blaze from spreading to other parts of the building, while officials commenced an assessment of the affected areas.
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In an update issued on Monday, the Group Head of Corporate Communications, Joe Abuku confirmed that the fire had been contained and that business activities will continue without disruption.
“The fire was successfully contained and prevented from spreading to other parts of the building. Whilst there has been some damage to office furniture, equipment and appliances in the affected areas, we are grateful to report that official documents that were affected are securely backed up electronically, with cloud storage, thanks to the Bank’s digital transformation measures,” the statement read. The bank said investigations and evaluations to determine the cause of the incident were still ongoing.
FMBN also assured customers that the fire had not affected its ability to deliver services, noting that business continuity and mitigation measures had been activated to ensure minimal disruption.
“The Federal Mortgage Bank of Nigeria hereby reassures all stakeholders, customers, and the general public that this unfortunate development has not compromised the Bank’s operations.
Appropriate business continuity and mitigation measures are in place to ensure minimum disruption to service delivery. The office remains open for normal business,” the bank stated.
The institution expressed appreciation to emergency responders, security agencies, members of staff and other stakeholders for their swift intervention during the incident. “The Bank will provide further updates as new information comes to light,” it added.
Established in 1956, the Federal Mortgage Bank of Nigeria serves as the country’s apex mortgage finance institution and manages the National Housing Fund scheme, which provides housing finance opportunities for eligible Nigerians.
While the exact cause of the fire remains unknown, authorities and the bank are continuing investigations to establish the circumstances surrounding the incident. FMBN said it would provide further updates as the assessment progresses.
Punch
