TOYIN ADEBAYO, ABUJA
The Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA) has warned operators of nightclubs, bars and gardens across the territory not to open for business until the Covid-19 restriction order is lifted.
Giving the warning on Sunday, when the team went round Kubwa, Gwarinpa and Wuse to monitor the level of compliance by operators, the Chairman of the FCT Ministerial Enforcement Taskteam on COVID-19 Restrictions, Comrade Ikharo Attah reitrated the ban till further notice.
He made this known after the operation, the Chairman hinted that, “the ban on nightclubs, parks and bars is yet to be lifted hence the need for us to sustain routine inspection and ensure compliance. We believe that if we relax too much, with the number of positive Covid-19 cases on the rise it would not be good for the city.”
Attah, however, expressed satisfaction with the high level of compliance by the nightclub operators was however not happy with the high number of suspected commercial sex workers around buildings housing the nightclubs at Kubwa.
He further hinted that, “the presence of the ladies of the night is a violation of the curfew because they are not on the exemption list of essential workers. Their presence made us to carry out full checks on some nightclubs which are truly closed. At moments like this we expect them to stop the unholy trade in their own interest because the men who may patronize them may be Covid-19 positive.”
Speaking on the shutting down of a bar at Wuse 2, he said, “we got several calls that Reset Nightclub and Bar located at Lobito Crescent in Wuse 2 was fully operational. But when we got there we discovered that it wasn’t true. A bar operating in a plaza located opposite the nightclub, as we all found out this night, was the one operating and playing very loud music which necessitated the calls and complaints we got from residents of the area.”
The team shut down the bar and confiscated some of its loudspeakers which were handed over to Enforcement officials from the Abuja Environmental Protection Board, (AEPB).
Attah, stressed that the team would be extending its checks on nightclubs in the suburbs while appealing to FCT residents to stay at home during the curfew periods and not endanger their lives.
