From Fred Itua, Abuja
About two years after the Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA) shut down a popular market in Abuja suburbs in Dutse Community, it has again decried the level of degeneration that has made the market an eyesore again.
The original plans of the modern market, which is strategically located in Bwari Area Council, were said to have been uttered with the help of the market managers, who introduced all manner of embarrassing illegalities.
Senior Special Assistant to FCT Minister on Monitoring, Inspection and Enforcement, Attah Ikharo, who led a clean-up exercise to the market and other parts of Dutse, threatened that the market may be shut down for one month, to enable the city sanitation team to remove everything that constitutes a potential disaster.
Ikharo stated that the FCT Minister had spent so much money cleaning and securing the market that any form of contravention can’t be allowed.
He noted that urgent steps have to be taken to restore sanity to the market, in order to avoid any disaster that could lead to the loss of lives and property.
According to him, the administration will not allow any individual to rubbish the good works the administration had made to put in place for the benefit of all residents.
Apart from the market, the team also removed several illegal structures around the community, warning residents to desist from blocking roads and creating traffic gridlock.
Ikharo said: “The FCT Minister has actually shown interest in the Dutse market because he had put in more resources and time. He has visited the market regularly more than any other market in the city.
“Sadly, the Dutse market is a disaster waiting to happen. The place has become badly choked up. The walkway and car parks are blocked and turned into a selling point.
“There are so many anomalies in the market. In the advent of the fire incident, even a wheelbarrow can’t carry water inside to fight the fire.
“The traders also move to the main road, shade their wares and thereby causing traffic gridlock. In all these, the market managers have not really helped us.
“The team members have agreed to propose to the Minister a one-month closure to enable us to clean up the market.”
The market manager, Sunday Makus who debunked the allegations of bribery against him, also expressed helplessness, saying he has been trying to curtail the illegal activities of traders, but to no avail.
A petty trader, Mrs Confidence Oguru, whose roadside trading tables were destroyed by the team, decried the actions of the government, saying it has become very frustrating.
The middle-aged woman who operates a Point of Sale (PoS) and other petty materials, said she lost up to N50,000 to the exercise.
“I feel so bad because it is unfair to us by the government coming to destroy our things without notice.
“I have lost up to N50,000 today. As a graduate I have no job, but have to be doing the PoS business and other things just to make ends meet,” she added.