AMML cautions FCT traders on protest

The Abuja Markets Management Limited (AMML) has urged traders and other market users in the nation’s capital to support its effort and those of the security agencies in ensuring that the market is not infiltrated by people of ignoble intentions in the guise of peaceful protest.

Speaking with traders and other stakeholders in reaction to a proposed peaceful protest on August 1, AMML’s Acting Managing Director, Engr. Abbas Yakubu, cautioned that recent experiences have shown that miscreants will not stop at anything to take advantage of any type of gathering in the market, peaceful or not.

Engr. Abbas reminded the traders how some shops in Wuse market, office and police station were torched and millions of naira worth of properties, destroyed just a few months ago by miscreants who have no stake in the market.

Noting that the market was yet to fully recover from that incident, Abbas maintained that Abuja Markets Management Limited cannot afford to risk a repeat of such occurrence in any of its market.

• Attack on Dangote Refinery will demarket Nigeria, democracy group warns
• NIGERIA DAILY: What You Need To Know About Hepatitis Disease

He said, ‘’We have history of protests and other incidents cascading into wanton destruction of properties in our markets; no responsible management or trader will fold its hand and wait for it to repeat. That is why we are urging you all to mobilize your fellow traders, the wheel barrow pushers, your apprentices and everyone who has legitimate business in the markets to resist any attempt at infiltrating the market by hoodlums in the guise of protest.’’

He said the market, as business environment, is designated for buying and selling and therefore should be jealously guarded by the owners and operators for that purpose.

“I understand that it may not hold as many groups are withdrawing from it. I also learnt that there are designated places and locations as well as other rules guiding the protest. We are just being proactive here to state emphatically that if you must protest, stay away from the market,” he said..