By Daniel Tyokua
Shop owners and traders in Union Trading Company (UTC) building, popularly known as UTC Area 10 market are to relocate to the completed temporary site beside the existing market.
This followed the agreement signed by Abuja Investment Company Limited on behalf of the Federal Capital Territory Administration with Urban Shelter Limited in 2021.
The technical coordinator, Urban Shelter Limited, Engr Ayodele Kolawole disclosed this during the inspection of the temporary market site on Saturday.
He said necessary measures have been put in place to ensure that no body is disrupted of his or her livelihood or shortchanged anybody.
According to him, the UTC market building was becoming a slum and threat to the lives of traders and customers, considering its years of existence.
Kolawole revealed that the remodeling, which will last for the period of two years would be done in sections, as part of the resolutions reached with the traders, shop owners, Abuja market management , Urban Shelter Limited and Abuja Investment Company.
He said prior to the commencement of the remodeling plan, all parties involved had agreed with Minister of FCT endorsement.
“The temporary market site for relocation of UTC traders and shop owners from the existing market is ready, there is nothing to fear, they had over 472 shops there but in the temporary site the shops are 480.
“The market is going to be redeveloped, Minister of FCT want the environment to be facelifted because the area is becoming a slum.
“The Minister had directed that the market should be given a facelift, and the facelifting is the redevelopment, total redevelopment.
“The developer, Urban Shelter with Abuja Investment Company Limited have put human face in the matter right from the beginning. They don’t want to push people away from the place they are earning their daily living and throw them into confusion, that is why we have put the necessary measures in place to migrate the traders to the temporary site.
“prior to the decision, there was a town hall meeting between traders, the executives and members including other key stakeholders, and they both agreed that they will move to the temporary site, aside the temporary side there were options given to them, but they said they done want to go far away from their business environment because of the fear of losing customers”
One of the traders who spoke with Journalists in the temporary site, Uche Paul, said: “We have paid money since waiting for the relocation, they said after building the place we will go back, we ready, most of us have finished paying, the developer is the one that is slow”
A former chairman of the traders in the market, Lanre Ajayi also explained that: “I have paid for my shop, so how can someone said that we don’t want to move”
According to him, those refusing to relocate are few individuals that have engaged in exploiting traders, “some of them are shop agents, others are agent of 20 to 30 shops that is their means of livelihood, they don’t want to leave. We have over 472 shops in the old place but those that stay in those shoes are close to 700”
