By Stanley Onyekwere
Residents and law enforcement agencies are admonished to help mitigate the recurring acts of vandalism and theft of costly gully inlets, manhole covers and other flood containment infrastructure on Abuja city roads.
This charge was handed down by the Permanent Secretary, Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA), Mr. Olusade Adesola, shortly after a flood assessment tour of parts of the city, over the weekend. He was accompanied on the visit by senior officials of the relevant Secretariats, Departments and Agencies of the FCTA.
Adesola decried that the incessant vandalism and theft of these expensive public accessories and road infrastructure have become unbearable in the FCT, in the wake of the dwindling resources of government and other competing interests.
He decried that expensive gully inlet and manhole covers that were recently replaced by the FCTA have been vandalized and stolen, leading to suboptimal performance of the drainage systems and consequent flooding on some city roads.
He expressed shock that even the gully inlets and manhole covers made of ductile materials that were of little or no second-hand value, have also been targeted by the vandals, leaving a very worrisome situation in the FCT.
He therefore called for the collaborative support of FCT residents by reporting any unusual or suspicious observations to the relevant security agencies for prompt action in order to forestall the ugly situation.
“To rid the city of flooding is a collective responsibility. The manhole covers that were placed on this particular road, last year, have been removed. They were not removed by ghosts. They were removed by people, and this is Federal Capital City where we have all the law enforcement agencies present.
“A lot of resources are committed to replacing these manholes, but not long after they are replaced, they are removed. But, shockingly today, all of them have been removed and nobody has been arrested for removing any.
“So, we want to appeal to every citizen; when you see something, report something. We have the number 112 where we can make emergency reports. When something unusual is happening, report it so that our law enforcement agencies can be invited to deal with the situation. This way, we will all be contributing to making the FCT flood-free”, he stressed.
