The Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA) on Wednesday in Abuja demolished some illegal markets and Tipper Garage in Gwarinpa Estate in continuation of its ongoing city sanitation.
The Chairman, FCT Ministerial Taskforce on City Sanitation, Mr Ikharo Attah, who led the operations, said the exercise would be sustained for days to prevent Gwarimpa from becoming a slum.
He said that the illegal markets and Tipper Garage had gradually been turned into hiding places for criminals and other hoodlums who constitute both nuisance and security threat.
Attah said that the daily perennial gridlock in some parts of Gwarinpa was also attributed to the illegalities flowing from the activities of the illegal Tipper Garage.
He said that the sanitation was even more important to correct contravention of both Abuja Environmental Protection Board (AEPB) and FCT Urban and Regional Planning laws, being committed by residents.
” We are removing illegal shanties markets and Tipper Garage. The most painful thing is that the transit corridors have been taken over by shanties and squalors.
” It has become a serious contravention against the Abuja Environmental Protection Board Act and the Urban and Regional Planning laws.
” We gave them notices and warnings since January and for the past one week, we have been coming here to warn them to move out, and they refused to move, we have also warned them to stop contributing money to bribe people.”
Earlier, the Assistant Director, Monitoring and Enforcement, AEPB, Malam Bello Kaka said that measures had been put in place to secure the reclaimed area to avoid a return of the nuisances.
He also debunked the allegations that some undisclosed agents of AEPB were collecting unspecified amount of money as bribe to illegally occupy the places.
Kaka warned that people should stop falling to the schemes of unscrupulous agents who often paraded as staff of AEPB just to defraud the unsuspecting members of the public.
(NAN)
