Slum dwellers hoping for some respite during the electioneering period may want to have a rethink, as the FCT Administration has vowed to sustain the removal of illegal structures across the territory before and after the 2023 election.
The Senior Special Assistant to FCT Minister on Monitoring, Inspection and Enforcement, Ikharo Attah, said the administration will sustain the tempo until all shanties are removed and the aesthetics of the city restored.
Attah who stated this on Tuesday during a clean up exercise at the Dutse-Alhaji market and other parts of Dutse, said the forthcoming general elections will in no way slow down the ongoing demolition exercise in the FCT lamenting that it was unacceptable that people are building shanties and indiscriminately in Abuja.
He said the FCT Minister, Malam Muhammad Bello, is committed to ensuring the city is clean before, during and after election, and that as long as government pays salaries and allowances, the work must go on.
According to Attah, “The Minister gave a matching order that all enforcement officers must do their jobs and all political appointees must do their jobs so I don’t see any enforcement stopping soon. Yes people have said within a short time that we are going to get tired and they even boosted before us that election is coming that we are going to get tired but the minister has said that the city must be clean in and out of election, until the last day we leave office as long as government is paying us our salaries and allowances we must work for the money and that is what we are doing here.
“We must do our jobs and anybody who thinks we are going to stop because of the election should think again. Even in Dutse-Alhaji where they said we are not going to come, we went there and we want to ensure that only those who have shops are selling there and the buyers come there to buy and leave.”
Addressing government officials that compromise, the minister’s aide warned against such practices, saying the administration will not hesitate to sanction any officer found wanting in the discharge of duty.
“I think the major thing we saw is the issue of allegations and counter allegations of people that are involved in irregularities especially those partaining to government official accusing them of compromising standards in many areas including the illegalities in Dutse-Alhaji market”.
“We come out to do our jobs and if possible also looking inward to ensure we are not compromised. That is why some of the people we removed their illegality claimed that an officer in the government gave them the place. If possible we purge ourselves and keep doing our jobs”.
Earlier, some of the market women who do not want their names mentioned, accused the FCTA officials in the market of allocating space to those who built illegal shanties and containers.
According to one of the women, “It is not only the market manager that allocates space, the FCT officials also collect money and allocates space too, so they should also check themselves.”
