As the Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA) commenced the enforcement of a policy, which mandated all Parks and Recreation centres in the Territory to close operations at 7pm daily, owners and operators of recreational facilities have lamented loss of revenues.
The senior special assistant on Monitoring, Inspection, and Enforcement to FCT Minister, Ikharo Attah, led the enforcement team, which commenced at the popular Eden Garden at Jabi District at about 8:14pm, then to Par Excellence Waterfalls and Park, Unity Global Garden, Grillzhut Garden, all at Wuse Zone 5, Deli Restaurant and Garden, Wuse Zone 4 and ended at City Park, Wuse II.
It was discovered that most of the parks visited still had nightlife lovers seated around their pleasure tables in different clusters, and unwillingly hastened out when they saw the enforcement team stormed the parks and interrupted their fun.
FCTA Enforces 7pm Closure Of Parks From Today
At Elites City Park, Wuse II, Micheal Akogwu, the manager of the park said they decided to close exactly at 7pm in compliance with the directive to avoid trouble from the government despite the fact that it was completely against their will.
He described the revenue loss in the Park as colossal, considering different segments that offer unique services with attractive selling points.
Also, Ms. Winners Wokoma, who operates a sit-out restaurant at the Eden Garden, said her loss due to the policy would be enough to send someone to the grave but had no choice but to comply with the order.
Attah while speaking during the exercise, explained that enforcing the policy was not meant to kill people’s businesses, but to instill a sense of sanity in the parks and recreation sector.
Attah, while regretting that the good intentions of the Administration in allocating the parks and gardens have been abused, called for understanding and compliance from the operators.
He, however, assured that the Administration will continue to dialogue with owners and operators of parks, to fine-tune the processes, to ensure seamless implementation.
“We came out this night for advocacy enforcement, we have gone around some gardens to ensure compliance to FCTA Park Policy 2005 that states that parks should close by 7pm, that is why we appear to be very soft.
“Everyone is concerned about park operators, we want them to make money, but we still need orderliness. Parks are not lounges, nightclubs, and hotels. They have specific guidelines on how they should operate. I think with time, everyone will begin to adjust,” the Minister’s aide stated.
