Inferno: NLC urges Sokoto Gov’t to reconstruct burnt Secretariat amid losses of 30-year-old documents 
From Bashir Rabe Mani in Sokoto
The Sokoto State Council of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), has appealed to the state government to urgently reconstruct its Secretariat that was completely gutted by an inferno on the 2nd of May, 2026.
“We are appealing to the state government to come to our urgent aid as it had vowed to put up a more befitting workers-friendly new ultramodern edifice for us,” the Vice Chairman of the NLC in the state, Dr Abdullahi Abubakar Yabo, told newsmen in Sokoto on Wednesday.
Our Correspondent in Sokoto reports that Dr Abdullahi Abubakar Yabo, gave an update on the unfortunate fire disaster on behalf of the state Chairman of the Council, Alhaji Abdullahi Aliyu Jungle.
According to the NLC Vice Chairman, the losses incurred sequel to the inferno run into hundreds of millions of Naira, saying that the losses included documents, office equipment and furniture, as well as numerous other accessories.
The don said, “Nothing was salvaged for the ill-fated Secretariat, we have lost everything as the entire building was burnt to ashes.
“The NLC has engaged a team of Engineers from the Federal and State Ministries of Works to ascertain whether the building can be reconstructed.
“They will also determine it must be demolished before starting a completely new building. They have finished their work and they will soon submit their report to the NLC.”
According to Dr Abdullahi Abubakar Yabo, the council haf written to the state government and the National Secretariat of the NLC, with a view to reconstructing the burnt down edifice as soon as possible.
He explained, “The Deputy Governor was here on a sympathy visit on behalf of the Governor. The Head of Service and other top ranking officials were also here.
“They also promised that the state government will soon provide a new befitting State Secretariat for the NLC to replace the razed down one.
*From their promises, the state government will soon intervene, redeem its pledge and build a befitting new State Secretariat.”
Dr Abdullahi Abubakar Yabo further acknowledged the existing cordial relationship between the state government and the NLC in Sokoto State, appealing, “so, we are appealing to the Governor and other well wishers to assist us in rebuilding the burnt down edifice.”
In the meantime, he said that the Congress had rented a place from it is administering labour activities in the state temporarily, saying, “constitutionally it is the responsibility of the state governments to provide NLC Secretariats across the country.
The NLC Vice Chairman, however, urged its National Secretariat to assist in securing a more befitting temporary office accomodation pending the reconstruction of the burnt structures by the state government.
Meanwhile, Dr Abdullahi Abubakar Yabo has disclosed that the NLC in the state is pondering on sealing Public-Private-Partnerhsip Agreements with some Banks, corporate bodies and individuals to establish some businesses on the vast land it owns at the Secretariat.
Doing so, he explained, will ensure that additional income accrues to the NLC in the state, stressing that financial independence is extremely key to the success of its struggles for the workers.
It could be sadly recalled that a devastating inferno had razed the Sokoto State Secretariat of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) in the early hours of Saturday, May 2, 2026, destroying office equipment and vital records accumulated over three decades.
The inferno broke out at about 3:00 a.m., barely 24 hours after workers in the state marked International Workers’ Day. Eyewitnesses said the fire spread rapidly through the building before emergency responders could contain it, leaving the secretariat in ruins by dawn.
NLC officials said the blaze was likely caused by an electrical fault, linked to recurring power surges from the national grid.
“We suspect it was caused by an electrical fault. By the time the fire was noticed, it had already spread across the building,” said Hamisu Hussaini, Secretary of the Sokoto NLC Council.
He added that computers, printers, refrigerators, televisions, furniture, and documents spanning over 30 years were lost in the fire.
“Everything was burnt. We lost documents and equipment built over many years. Nothing could be salvaged,” he said.
According to the officials, the security guard on duty had attempted to contain the flames but was overwhelmed by the speed of the fire.
“Firefighters arrived about an hour later and succeeded in extinguishing it, but extensive damage had already been done,” they decried.
The Sokoto NLC Chairman, Comrade Abdullahi Aliyu, popularly known as “Jungle,”had described the incident as “unfortunate and disheartening.”
“This is a painful loss for the labour movement in Sokoto. The extent of destruction is enormous, and it comes at a time we were just reflecting on the significance of workers’ welfare and unity,” further reacted then.
