The Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA) on Wednesday stormed Gwarimpa (the largest single housing Estate in Abuja) and demolished some illegal markets as well as a renowned tipper garage.
This, according to the administration is part of its continued city cleanup exercise.
The Chairman, FCT Ministerial Committee on City Sanitation, Comrade Ikharo Attah, who led personnel to the operations, hinted that the effort, which will last several days, intended to keep Gwarimpa from becoming a slum.
He said that the underground markets and Tipper garage had gradually become a safe havens for criminals and other hoodlums, who constitute both nuisance and security threat.
Attah further added that the daily chronic traffic bottleneck in various portions of Gwarimpa was also related to illegalities resulting from the illegal tipper garage’s activities.
He went on to say that sanitation was even more vital since it corrects violations of both AEPB and FCT Urban and Regional Planning laws committed by citizens.
According to him ; ” We are removing illegal shanties markets and Tipper garage. The most painful thing is that the transit corridors have been taken over by shanties squalors
” It has become a serious contraventions 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 , Abuja Environmental Protection Board (AEPB) Enforcement and Control leader, Kaka Bello, said that measures have been put in place to secure the reclaimed area, so as to avoid a return of the nuisances.
He, however, debunked the allegations that some undisclosed agents of AEPB were collecting unspecified amount of money as bribe to illegally occupy the places.
He also warned that people should stop falling to the schemes of unscrupulous agents who often parade as staff of AEPB , just to defraud the unsuspecting members of the public.
