On Wednesday, the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Ministerial Taskteam on City Sanitation demolished the Dutse Makaranta, Sokale, and Kubwa F01 axis of the Bwari-Dutse route in order to restore the integrity of the Masterplan of Abuja, the nation’s capital city.
Owners and residents of illegal structures, including scavengers, were targeted by FCTA bulldozers escorted by Taskteam security personnel in these villages and along the Bwari-Dutse road corridors.
Illegal businesses, car wash marts, and attachments belonging to E-Fountains Event Centre, Total Child Model Schools, Salvation Teaching Centre, and Khalad International Schools were among the constructions dismantled near Sagwari Layout and Sokale on the main Bwari-Dutse road.
Nino VIP Lounge on waterways and traffic lanes in the neighborhood, as well as an illegal pantaker waste site in Jabu layout within Kubwa FO1, were also demolished.
The Taskteam’s leader, Comrade Ikharo Attah, noted that all of the afflicted properties had no genuine ownership, but had been extensively built on and conscripted the road corridors over the years, making the area into infamous marketplaces.
His words ; “Today, we came into Dutse-Alhaji and Kubwa axis, containing clear illegalities notoriously responsible for heavy traffic gridlock in the area.
So we are here to actually clear this alignment, and remove all of these properties that breached the Abuja Masterplan.
“We also took downward stretch towards Dutse Makaranta, which we could not finish removing much illegal structures around the alignment there, but we are hopeful, that we will actually come back to continue the cleanup exercise here.
“And we also went to clear some very terrible criminals’ den, where scavengers occupied inside part of Kubwa FO1 , removal of the structures is aimed at restoring the Abuja Masterplan, and all those who live in Kubwa here will be very happy, as the extreme gridlock that’s known to here will all disappear.”
He continued: ” “It’s pathetic, because everyone here got notice, but they just sat down, as they don’t care, and we can’t continue living like this.
” What pains me most is that we gave notice, and I even insisted that Development Control Department gave a second notice. So they gave first and second notice , but people them wiped off , believing that government would not come, and that’s paining me”.
Similarly, the Secretary, FCT Security Command and Control Centre, Peter Olumuji, explained that “this part of Kubwa FO1 is a new developing site which harbours a lot of scavengers.
“And this axis once it’s 7 pm , you can’t have thorough fair here, because hoodlums always attack anybody passing through this road, some few years ago, they killed a police man , and stabbed another there, using different dangerous weapons, that’s why we have come to rid the place such criminal elements there.”
One of the landlords in Dutse Sokale, Mr. Augustine Olorintoba, described the exercise as a very good one, saying this will help to keep Abuja clean.
” Abuja has to be clean and decent, we landlords of Dutse Sokale are very happy, because most of our drainages have been blocked, and water is not going through.
“We appreciate the FCT Minister for his commitment to making Abuja clean. The area is looking fine , but one thing we will ask is to ensure that there is no roadside trading particularly around this Sokale junction because the activities are causing traffic gridlock here particularly in the night”, he stressed.
