The Ministerial Task team in the Nigerian Federal Capital Territory Administration, (FCTA), has removed the notorious Arab junction illegal market and squatters in Kubwa area.
The market, which was by the major road corridor leading to Kubwa, causes serious traffic jam during the peak hours in the mornings and evenings.
The squatters have also turned all the major drainages to their refuse dump which blocked all the major drainages in the area.
Apart from removing the illegal shops, shanties and structures in the area, the team also distilled the drainages.
Speaking to Journalists shortly after the exercise, the Senior Special Assistant to the FCT Minister on Monitoring, Inspection and Enforcement, Ikharo Attah, said the Minister, Malam Muhammad Bello, has given a matching order that the entire stretch leading to Kubwa train station from popular Arab junction must be clean and all the illegal squatters, shanties, parkings and shops should be removed in order to allow free flow of traffic in the area.
According to him, “the Minister of FCT Malam Muhammad Bello gave the Taskforce team headed by the Executive Secretary of the Federal Capital Development Authority (FCDA), Engr. Shehu Hadi Ahmad, to clean the entire stretch leading to Kubwa train station from popular Arab junction down to the train station because the train services here is already well patronised. People who use this road now are not happy about the state of the road which paint Abuja in a bad light. It took all of the entire taskforce team to do the job“.
Attah noted that, the Task team which comprises the Abuja Environmental Protection Board, (AEPB), Development control and Security Department, were all aimed to bring sanity to the Area.
He said, “We are all here to correct every contravention like illegal structures around here. The Minister is making the institution to work so that anyone that is coming after him, the work will be easy for him”.
He reiterated the commitment of the Minister in ensuring that all the drainages in Abuja are distilled before the commencement of the raining season in April/May.
On whether the residents are aware about the removal he said, “The people are more than aware that the administration is coming to remove all the illegal structures, some have already packed and removed their shops, some are still removing when we came. Some of the department have come to warn them before now”.
Also speaking, the Head of Monitoring and Enforcement, AEPB, Mr. Kaka Bello lamented about the traffic congestion in the area due to illegal squatters and markets.
“Before now there were lots of illegal markets, which is affecting free flow of traffic, a journey of 5 minutes takes over 1hour. It was also affecting the environment negatively. We have been here before and we will continue to do this”, he added.
Mr. Bello who appealed to the traders to go to the designated market for their businesses urged residents to only buy from traders who sell at the right market.
