Sallah: FCTA moves against proliferation of Ram markets

• …Defaulters to face prosecution

Stanley Onyekwere

Just few days to the celebration of the Eld-el Kabir by the Muslim faithful, the Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA) has warned against proliferation of illegal markets within the nation’s capital city.
To this end, the FCTA has set in motion measures, which includes prosecution of ram sellers and confiscation of rams outside designated selling points, in order to mitigate the menace.

This position was made known by the Chairman of the FCT Ministerial TaskForce on City Sanitation, Ikharo Attah, during a sensitization campaign to markets across the city, yesterday.
Attah disclosed that the FCT Minister, Mallam Muhammad Musa Bello had refused the proposal of the ram dealers to create such markets, to avoid distortion of the city’s aesthetic make-up, which takes energy and resources to maintain.
He noted y the administration cannot allow the gains of the ongoing aggressive city sanitation to be swept away by such illegal markets, which from hindsight has serious sanitation and environmental consequences on the city.
According to him, the FCTA has approved ram markets at Kugbo, Dei- Dei and all the Abattoirs within the city where both those selling and buying rams and other animals can interface for their trade.
Furthermore, the chairman revealed that the Minister was also considering the option of creating a temporary selling point at some outskirts locations, where ram dealers could use and two days after the celebration, the places will be dismantled and disinfected.
He however noted that ram dealers who defies the directive to sell at the illegal markets would have their rams confiscated and distributed to orphanage homes, prisons and other vulnerable persons.
He reiterated that a Mobile Court will sit to try violators and an order of permanent forfeiture would be sought over confiscated rams, while convicted violators will face the law.
“ The Minister of FCT, Mallam Muhammad Musa Bello in his decision as the manager of the city, said we should not allow indiscriminate ram markets to come around every corner within the city during this Sallah period.
“ The Minister said there are approved selling points within the FCT, the Dei-Dei ram markets, Kugbo and some of the markets within the Abattoirs.
“Also we have approached the minister on the need to have designated selling points, because the rams coming into the city during the celebration may overwhelm these approved markets.
“ we will not be allowing every street to have ram markets, especially at the hearts of the city.
“We have warned those involved in the illegal markets to desist, because any ram we found in the illegal markets will be confiscated and the Mobile Court will sit for us to apply for permanent forfeiture for the rams.
“ The rams will be given to those in, orphanage homes and others”, Attah stressed.