The Federal Capital Territory Administration FCTA has evicted illegal food vendors, mechanics, fuel hawkers, scavengers and other petty traders on rail and road corridors near Presidential Villa in Abuja.
Assistant Director, Enforcement at the Abuja Environmental Protection Board (AEPB) Mr Kaka Bello, who led the operations, said the administration has zero tolerance for environmental nuisances in the nation’s capital.
He said; “As you can see, this area falls within the Asokoro District and it is bordering the residence of the Number One citizen of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and as such, this illegality that is happening here will not be allowed to continue.
“You can see a lot of sundry nuisances from food vendors, illegal petrol sellers popularly known as black marketers, and illegal mechanics occupying this road corridor. This has led to the spillover of their illegal activities on the R.B. Dikko Road off Lord Lugard street. This is unacceptable and that is why the Director of AEPB, Mr Osilama Braimah, gave us a marching order to come and ensure that we sanitize this place.”
Bello vowed that the board and other agencies of the FCTA saddled with the responsibility of city management would sustain the operation in the area on daily basis.
“We will ensure that this place is sanitized on a daily basis and that is why we are here and you can see the work we are doing. The enforcement will continue on a daily basis. As you can see, the operation is been carried out by different agencies such as the FCT Directorate of Traffic Road Services (VIO), FCT Ministerial Task Force on City Sanitation, NDLEA and the rest”, he added.
Also speaking, Senior Special Assistant to the FCT Minister on Monitoring, Inspection and Enforcement, Mr Attah Ikharo explained that the place being occupied by the vendors and mechanics was a green area earlier given as a temporary food court.
He said the administration would fence the area, adding that those who have temporary allocations to run green areas, parks and open spaces would take charge.
“This is what we do to ensure that people manage the rail and the road corridors pending when we have full construction and when the place is fully used for road and rail all these things would disappear. But for now, we discovered that it is really very bad and sad to see fuel black marketers, food vendors, scavengers, hawkers and all manner of people using this place. This doesn’t paint the city in a very good light considering the fact that it is at the very heart of the city,” he lamented.
