Some constituency projects initiated by Senator Dino Melaye in Lokoja, the Kogi State capital were destroyed on Wednesday by suspected political thugs.
A block of four furnished classrooms at Government Girls Secondary School, Sarkin-Noma was set ablaze early in the day.
Furniture and electrical fittings were completely destroyed by the fire.
Also at UBE Junior Secondary School (JSS), Lokongoma in Lokoja, the iron windows, ceilings, whiteboards and electrical fittings, including ceiling fans in the block of four classrooms, were destroyed.
Policemen were later seen in and around the school premises to provide security against further attack on the project.
Melaye has condemned the attacks.
Speaking with journalists after inspecting the Government Girls Secondary School, the politician described the incident as barbaric and uncivilised.
He also condemned the vandalisation done at the UBE Junior Secondary School at Lokongoma.
Melaye, who is representing Kogi West Senatorial District, said that the action of the hoodlums was an embarrassment to the state that was well respected for its exploits in education in Northern Nigeria.
He wondered why some people would want to bring down the state for selfish reasons, pleading with the hoodlums and their sponsors to stop smearing the image of the state.
Melaye promised to rebuild and repair the burnt and damaged blocks of classrooms, saying that no amount of intimidation and harassment would divert his attention from providing qualitative representation to the people.
He also said that the incident would not stop his planned one-week thank you tour of the senatorial district and inauguration of some of the 143 projects he had executed in the past three years at a cost of N7 billion.
The senator later inaugurated the two blocks of four classrooms be built at LGEA Primary School, Tawari, and LGEA Primary School, Manyare, the 10- kilometre Manyare -Gegu Beki road and the 15-kilometre Orehi – Irovomi road, all in Kogi Local Government.
He charged the people of the communities where the projects were located to protect them from vandals and make the best use of them.
Melaye, who also inaugurated a borehole he built at Felele area of Lokoja, said other projects to be inaugurated in the next few days include classroom blocks, rural roads, boreholes, skills acquisition centres as well as rural electrification schemes.
Speaking on behalf of the government when he visited the site of the burnt facilities, Director General, Media and Publicity to the State Governor, Kingsley Fanwo, said state government had directed security operatives to fish out the arsonists.
“Irrespective of who is doing the project, the fund is from the government; whether it is the executive or legislature, such projects should rather be applauded, and not destroyed,” he said.
