The Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA) on Monday raised the alarm over safety concerns and poor sanitation in Utako Market, threatening to shut it down to avert the epidemic.
Utako Market said to be one of the largest markets located in Utako district, within the Federal Capital City (FCC) is being directly managed by the Abuja Municipal Area Council (AMAC).
The Director, Department of Development Control, Mukhtar Galadima who is also the leader of the FCTA taskforce on city sanitation, said the discovery of the deteriorated sanitation situation in Utako Market was disturbing.
Mukhtar Galadima said the market has become a ” time bomb and disaster waiting to happen”.
He stated that there was an urgent need to clean up the market and ensure that disaster and epidemic were averted.
Galadima expressed displeasure that such a market located within the heart of the city could be allowed by its managers to degenerate to a place where both human and environmental safety is compromised.
While he said that an urgent meeting would be convened with all stakeholders in the market, he insisted that proactive measures must be taken.
He noted that more worrisome was the fact that the market managers have illegally allowed the market to overflow into the major streets around Utako residential areas.
He said: “I think obviously we are reaching to that point, definitely we have call the owners of the market and the city managers to sit down, if need be, we will close down the market, if need be, we will move in and sanitise the market, it was done before during El-Rufai where we closed Wuse market and we can equally do same, the place, as it is overpopulated and is like a time bomb if we don’t anything immediately, definitely I don’t pray for it but disasters will happen.”.
Also speaking, the Secretary of FCTA’s Command and Control, Peter Olumuji said apart from the nuisances in the area, residents around the neighbourhood, have also complained of security threats surging from the market.
Olumuji equally disclosed that the market has been overtaken by idle youths and suspected hard drug addicts.
While he said that no suspect was arrested, he noted that the National Drug Laws Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has been briefed to pay close attention to the market area, to curb the illicit drug peddling activities.
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