By Daniel Tyokua
Two illegal markets and stalls on Nnamdi Azikiwe Airport Road in Abuja have been pulled down by officials of the Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA).
The exercise which was led by Senior Special Assistant on Monitoring, Inspection and Enforcement to Minister of the FCT, Ikharo Attah was carried out in the midnight, with markets and three strategic roadside selling points on the corridors of the busy expressway dismantled.
Attah said the operation was in line with the FCT Minister’s directive on the cleaning of the Airport Road which he said was a continuous exercise, and as such it can’t be stopped but to recover the gateway of the city.
He explained that the operation didn’t affect the people’s property because prior to their visit, the affected traders had removed their goods and took them to somewhere else for safe-keeping, remaining only the wooden benches, tables and umbrellas that were left behind.
“We commenced the operation from about 12 am till about 4:30 am, and we have been able to freely removed all the wooden benches, tables, umbrellas and everything there. We cleared them all, and because they are so massive, we can’t pack them, and we had to set all of them ablaze, as part our plan to clean up the Airport Road corridor.
“If we try to do this during the daytime, we observed that people would gather in their thousands watching; and passers-by will slow down and be watching us , but today we didn’t see such, because of the time when we stormed the place.
“I believe that we are getting the result, and so far we were able to remove two main markets and three strategic roadside selling points. It was so disturbing and painting our city in bad light, that’s why the FCT Minister gave us the mandate to check the menace, and we have been doing that.
“We had come here today, to demystify and actually sack most of the night markets and roadside trading. so long as we continue working I don’t think that they can come back, as on a daily basis, we have our pin-down there, and from time to time, a joint cleaning team will make sure that these activities will not continue.
“And going forward, even after the greening exercise, the Airport Road will be constantly be kept clean as it is the gateway to our city.”
On his part, the Deputy Director of AEPB, Kaka Bello, noted that it’s just part of their routine exercise, as part of our effort at cleaning the Airport Road, and ensuring that all environmental nuisance are removed.
