Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA) said it is to commence enforcement of the 6 pm closing time for Dei-dei market, Dutse-Alhaji markets, and other markets to address continued traffic gridlock and insecurity in the territory.
The senior special assistant to the minister on monitoring, inspection, and enforcement, Mr Ikharo Attah, stated this at a consultative and strategy meeting at the weekend with heads of security agencies and paramilitary organisations, especially those in charge of the Dutse-Alhaji axis.
Attah who lamented the continued flouting of traffic regulations by motorists in the area, especially during the peak period, identified it as the major cause of gridlock in the area, and that the administration is committed to ensuring the free flow of traffic in the area.
“FCT minister, Malam Muhammad Bello, traffic management team met as part of the Dutse-Alhaji axis, the minister asked us to clear traffic in Nyanya and Dutse-Alhaji. We are meeting because we have already seen retrogression on the job we did in September.
“We collaborated with other security agencies like Road Safety, VIO, Police, and AEPB, all of us are working in that axis to address environmental, and traffic issues. We want to ensure we have free traffic on that axis and ensure everything is working well on that axis.
“Already the mandate secretary on transportation Adamu Candido is already doing so much on the issue of restrictions on okada and others. We will also look at the Dutse market, where people do not have a closing time, when they finish people just come to the main road and clog the road,” he said.
He also said that the FCTA will look at Sokale roundabout in Dutse and some of the challenges there and that there will be an engineering solution to the causes of gridlock there soon.
He said it would not be acceptable anymore for people to finish in the shop and come and spread their goods on the road and causing traffic, that is unacceptable to the minister.
The Assistant Director of Enforcement, Abuja Environmental Protection Board, (AEPB) Kaka lamented the full return of scavengers in the market and said there is a need to remove them.
He said it is imperative to ensure that the market closes by 6 pm and as people are coming out nobody should be allowed to go in again and that if they remove the illegal shops in markets some people will run and go to another market.
