FCTA reads riot act to roadside traders

By Stanley Onyekwere

The Federal Capital Terriory Administration (FCTA) has warned traders to desist from trading on road shoulders and corridors or risks confiscation of their wares.
Chairman of the FCTA Ministerial Taskforce on Traffic Management,
Comrade Ikharo Attah, read the riot act during inspections of Nyanya Market, road shoulders and corridors yesterday in Abuja.
Attah disclosed that the traffic management team would confiscate wares and any other property of defaulters, adding that confiscated items would be taken to the court.
He explained that traffic management team would push for the court to grant permanent forfeiture of whatever items or properties confiscated.
“ And if we are able to get the court injuction from the judge, then we will likely distribute the items be it cloths or food items to orphanages and centre for persons living with disabilities.
“ The Federal Capital Terriory Administration (FCTA) is warning traders across the city to desist from selling on road shoulders, road corridors and road side.
“ That is one worrisome thing that we have observed and as the Chairman of the FCT Ministerial Taskforce on Traffic Management, I know that the FCT Minister Malam Muhammad Bello is not taken the issue of trading on road shoulders and corridors very lightly.
“ Worrisome is the fact that in some areas like Nyanya, Karu site, Dutse Alhaji Area, Kubwa by the NNPC junction and some other very busy road side, people have converted the road side and shoulders into the market.
“ It is completely unacceptable and is being heavily resisted because is grossly in appropriate in Abuja,” Attah stressed.
He added that the taskforce had throughout the night cleared the Nyanya market and deployed personnel in the morning to prevent traders from selling on road shoulders.
According to him, “If you look at Nyanya today, being the market day is completely clean, the road is clear and we are going to be enforcing that.
“ We really have to make strong appeal to the royal fathers to support us because all of the people in the market have cultural inclination.
“ The one at Karu and that Dutse Alhaji have cultural inclination and each of the market are under the supervision of a traditional rulers appointed by the palace.
“ Particularly at Nyanya we are very worry that even the palace of the Chief of Nyanya every Wednesday is converted to market to the point that they even sale at the entrance of the palace.”
Attah reiterated that the traffic management team would adopt drastic measures to stop trading on road shoulders, noting that market had it own environment and people would not be allow sale on the road.