The Federal Capital Territory Administration yesterday commenced massive demolition of illegal structures in Kuje town to check the increase of slum settlement in the area council.
The clean up exercise aimed at removing structures obstructing human and vehicular movements in area, is coming after months of sensitisation and abatement notices from relevant authorities and endorsement of Kuje stakeholders.
Officials of the FCTA backed by heavy security team drawn from the military, Police and para-military agencies stormed the area and cleared road side encroachments from the notorious tipper garage to the Kuje main market.
During the clean-up exercise, which lasted for about seven hours, hundreds of structures ranging from kiosks, containers, attachments to stores and worship centres, shanties and sign posts encroaching on the road corridors were removed.
Speaking with newsmen, Senior Special Assistant to FCT Minister on Monitoring, Inspection and Enforcement, Ikharo Attah, said the exercise is under the Minister’s directive and under the guidance of police Commissioner, Sunday Babaji, and other security heads in the Territory.
Attah added that the minister has not been comfortable with the nature of Kuje, as the extreme contraventions in different parts of the town makes the area very unsafe.
The minister therefore directed that all illegal settlements due to the extreme road encroachment, road side trading, encroachment of rail corridors, and other contraventions in Kuje be removed.
According to him, the clean-up would be a week long exercise, as Kuje has been very worrisome in some areas of insecurity.
“Today, we have been able to address the issue of road side encroachment from tipper garage to the main market, we couldn’t enter the forest, but we told them to park that forest is not supposed to be a market while we also touched the fruit market.
“Tomorrow we will be claiming the rail corridor, the entire rail corridor, and keep it safe. We marked Kuje about four months ago. And we have been waiting for long, so the word of caution is what they have seen today.”
On the encroachment of the railway, the SSA explain that, “Kuje chiefs and indigenes have denied selling the rail corridor to anyone. So we have been directed by the Minister to reclaim the rail corridor.”
For one Charity Onu, a trader, who owns a shop in Kuje market, the clean up exercise means more patronage as more people will now have access into the market.
According her, “Clearing of the road is very good as it will pave way for people to come inside, but I will like to appeal to the government to give the dislodged roadside traders new place, where they can do their business”.
