FCT minister, Nyesom Wike, has ordered the demolition of the popular Covid-19 market in Area 11, Abuja.
Director of the Abuja Environmental Protection Board (AEPB), Osi Braimah, disclosed this while speaking with journalists during the demolition of shanty stores built in the market.
“Removal of shanties and illegal settlements in Area 11 and some parts of the city is to curb the incessant insecurity faced by residents,” he said.
“This is an ongoing exercise by various agencies of the FCT; AEPB has been given a marching order by the FCT Minister, Nyesom Wike to scale up demolition of all shanties, illegal settlements and squatter camps in the FCT.
“We have been doing this for a long time, primarily because this scaling up will improve the city sanitation and also cater for the attendant problem of insecurity,” Braimah noted.
The director said that most of the people living in the shanties were without addresses and identification and this could produce challenges regarding insecurity.
“So it is paramount we scale up and we achieve the objective set out for us by the FCT minister.
“That is why the FCT minister has asked everybody to develop his property in the FCT to avoid the erection of illegal property on empty plots.
“Before we embark on demolitions, we usually give abatement notices, we don’t just come in one day trying to remove illegal structures,” Braimah noted.
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