Governor Ben Ayade of Cross River State on Monday night said that there was no fire incident in the Government House as reported by a section of social media.

The governor, however, said that what could be close to the purported fire incident was a “small fire incident” on a mast at the state’s Geographic Information Agency, which shares a fence with the Government House.

A statement endorsed on Monday night by Mr. Christian Ita, Special Adviser, Media and Publicity to the governor, titled, “No fire incident in Cross River Governor’s Office”, described the report on the purported fire incident ad “sensational and misleading”.

The text of the statement reads:

“My attention has been drawn to a sensational and misleading report on social media about a purported fire incident in the office of the Governor of Cross River State, Professor Ben Ayade.

“I wish to state without equivocation that no fire incident occurred at Governor Ayade’s office.

“There was a small fire incident on a mast within the premises of the Cross River Geographic Information Agency (CRGIA), which shares a fence with the Governor’s Office.

“Any report to the contrary should please be disregarded and the reports alleging fire outbreak ar e only mischievous as | insisted when called that the said fire happened behind the glass house which is used mainly for reception purposes, which is quite a distance from the Governor’s Office building.

The purported fire outbreak in the Governor’s Office is a fabrication of the author of the story whose intention is to cause panic as well as discredit the government of Sir Ben Ayade.

“We are used to this kind of spin, which is aimed at nothing but to create sensation”, the statement concluded. (Nigerian Tribune)