The Abuja Metropolitan Management Council (AMMC), under the Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA), has dislodged over 1000 ‘illegal’ residents in the inner Northern parkway in Wuse Zone 3, Abuja.
The AMMC Coordinator, Felix Obuah, told reporters after the exercise yesterday that the move was part of efforts to clear the city of shanties some of which were built over 27 years ago.
They have been demolished several times but wererebuilt by the occupants.
Obuah said the location was preserved for a road corridor, but was illegally occupied by unknown people, posing a security threat, and defacing the beauty of the city.
He said: “Also disturbing is that criminals and miscreants have made this location a safe haven. So, we decided to come and clear the shanties and remove the criminals that have taken over the road corridor to give Abuja its desired beauty. We can’t allow this again. Our aim is to beautify the city and make Abuja a city we will all be proud of.”
He added that a task force would be set up to make sure that none of the illegal occupants and rebuild any shanty in the area again.
Obuah also announced plans to relocate the occupants to a permanent location to ensure that no one returns.
He said: “We are going to write a memo to the FCT Minister, Mr Nyesom Wike, to seek his approval and see how far we can go about the relocation plan.
“From what we can see, there are a huge number of people illegally residing here. So, if we can relocate them within a very short possible time, they will come back here again.