The Federal Capital Territory Administration on Wednesday stormed Gwarimpa Estate in continuation of its ongoing city sanitation, demolishing some illegal markets and a notorious tipper garage.
Chairman, FCT Ministerial Committee on City Sanitation, Ikharo Attah, who led the operations, said the exercise that would be sustained for days, was to prevent Gwarimpa from becoming a slum.
He noted that the illegal markets and Tipper had gradually been turned into hiding places for criminals and other hoodlums who constitute both nuisance and security threat.
Attah also stated that the daily perennial traffic gridlock in some parts of Gwarimpa was also attributed to the illegalities flowing from the activities of the illegal tipper garage.
He added that the sanitation was even more important, as it corrects contraventions of both AEPB and FCT Urban and Regional Planning laws, being committed by residents.
” We are removing illegal shanties markets and Tipper garage. The most painful thing is that the transit corridors have been taken over by shanties squalors.
” It has become a serious contravention against the Abuja Environmental Protection Board Act and the Urban and Regional Planning laws.
“We gave them notices and warnings since January and for the past one week, we have been coming here to warn them to move out, and they refused to move, we have also warned them to stop contributing money to bribe people.
Also speaking, AEPB Enforcement leader, Kaka Bello, said that measures have been put in place to secure the reclaimed area, so as to avoid a return of the nuisances.
He also debunked the allegations that some undisclosed agents of AEPB were collecting unspecified amount of money as bribe to illegally occupy the places.
He further warned that people should stop falling to the schemes of unscrupulous agents who often parade as staff of AEPB, just to defraud the unsuspecting members of the public.
