Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, has prohibited street trading within Abuja.
Wike attributes the ban to his belief that individuals who engage in activities like selling corn and street hawking contribute to the insecurity and criminal occurrences in the nation’s capital.
He unveiled this directive while sternly addressing the leadership teams of the Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA) and Federal Capital Development Authority (FCDA).
Wike, who formerly served as the governor of Rivers State, urged them to be committed to doing the “right things”.
“The important thing we must do is to ensure that Abuja is back to what it ought to be. I moved around Abuja and found out there is total darkness in most of the places. What we need to do is to ensure light comes back as soon as possible.”
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“If you are in charge of sanitation, will call you at any time of the day. We shouldn’t allow motor parks all over the place. Something must be done as soon as possible. If you cannot meet up my standard, say it now so that we can change you,” he said.
He noted that even though times are hard, that should not be an excuse for lawlessness in the capital city.
He said, “Street trading is prohibited. People selling corn will drop their waste indiscriminately and these are the things that cause insecurity. Criminals come to buy and use the opportunity to spy and give information to criminals. It is imperative we clear street hawkers.
“Development control is a serious crisis area, we have to stop. Why are there illegal structures and shanties everywhere? We will demolish any illegal structures. No matter how highly placed, the structure will come down.”
Wike caught headlines during his inaugural media briefing, which held shortly after he took the oath of office.
The minister had vowed to step on toes in his bid to restore the master plan of the nation’s capital.
“People who are distorting the master plan of Abuja, too bad… Refuse everywhere. Those being paid for refuse collection, what are they doing? So, we must also sit down to look at different ways of waste disposal. It is very key. All those people distorting the master plan of Abuja, too bad.. if you know you have built where you are not supposed to build, it will go down, be you a minister or an ambassador.”
“If you know you have developed where you are not supposed to develop your house must go down. Those who have taken over the green area to build, sorry the green area must come back. So, If you know you have anybody who is involved, anyone that has taken over the green areas and the parks to restaurants, we won’t accept that. Sorry, if your father or your mother has done that, there is nothing I can do,” he had said.
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