FCTA Clears Roadside Artisans, Building Materials Dealers In Karmo

By Hudu Yakubu Abuja

For allegedly encroaching on road corridors and constituting public nuisance, FCTA city management officials raided and disloged artisans and building materials dealers in their hundreds from major streets, in the Karmo District of Abuja, the nation’s capital city.

In particular, the FCTA officials, backed by security personnel from the Nigeria Police and Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC), at the weekend dismantled shanties and removed items such as furniture and scaffolds, ladders amongst others in the area.

It was observed that most of the affected artisans and traders were those hitherto operating in makeshift structures, mainly containers and batchers attached to the perimeter fence of Babangida Estate, near Nizanya Hospital, Karimo District.

Also affected were a cluster of roadside traders on the stretch of a major road corridor linking the District with the Idu Railway Station and the Junction along the busy Jabi/Airport road.

Explaining the operation, the Director, Department of Development Control, Murktar Usman Galadima, said it was part of its recently revived weekend clean up exercise, aimed at clearing shanties and sanitising the city.

Galadima, who described as unacceptable, the conversion of major road corridors into trading and other auxiliary activities, insisted that the department in collaboration with other sister agencies will not relent on the reinvigorated effort to enforce orderliness in the city.

He added that, “When you go round, you will see that where government has spent so much amount of money to provide infrastructure, then non-concerned citizens will go defacing such with some trading activities.

“Following the outbreak of COVID-19, a lot of things stopped (pulsed), so, even our weekend activities were stopped, but now we are reviving it. Prior to that, mostly, during the weekend we used to go round and evacuate construction waste and other things.We restarted last week, in Kafe District, and this week, we were at Karmo District. So, we see the operation as an opportunity to clear the trees as well as remove those traders and artisans from the road corridor. It is not that we don’t appreciate what they are doing, but that is not the best (designated) place for such activities”.

Meanwhile, to sustain the exercise, he said: ” In fact, we have already come up with an action plan, next weekend, we are going to some where else in the city. But, people should please note that for every activity in Abuja, there are places designated for such. So, it should’t done by our roadside, as doing so, you are already encroaching on our underground facilities and services. So, I’m appealing people especially these traders to please desist from what they are doing, as they should go to designated places to display and solicit patronage for those activities”.