Fire in Senate office quickly contained during NDDC screening.

By Henry Umoru

ABUJA—A brief fire erupted in the Senate wing of the National Assembly on Wednesday, but lawmakers quickly contained it, preventing any spread.

The incident took place in Senate Hearing Room 107 while Dr. Zainab Marwa was being screened for a seat on the Governing Board of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) as the North‑East representative.

Senator Asuquo Ekpenyong (APC, Cross River South) and Senator Salihu Mustapha (APC, Kwara Central) acted swiftly to extinguish the flames in the kitchen area of the hearing room.

The Senate Committee on NDDC, chaired by Senator Ekpenyong, had just finished its screening when smoke began to drift across the room, briefly disrupting proceedings.

Investigators later suggested the fire may have started when a microwave was left on in the kitchen.

Although the situation caused a momentary commotion, it was quickly brought under control and the session was halted without further incident.

Earlier, the Senate had received a request from President Bola Tinubu to confirm Dr. Marwa as the North‑East representative on the NDDC Governing Board.

The request was read aloud by Senate President Godswill Akpabio, noting that the nomination followed Section 2 of the NDDC Establishment Act.

The letter explained that the appointment would fill the vacancy left by former North‑East representative Hon. Abdulrazak Namdas, who resigned on 30 March 2026 to run for governor of Adamawa State.

The Senate has forwarded the nomination to its Committee on NDDC for further review and expects to report back within one to two weeks.

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