NAN-H-111
Market
By Kabir Muhammad
Abuja, Nov. 16, 2016 (NAN) FCT Minister Muhammad Bello said on Wednesday in Abuja that the Abuja Regional Market, Dei Dei, would be operational by December 2016.
Bello said this when he undertook an inspection tour of the ongoing work at the over 6,100-shop market situated in Tudun Fulani along Gwagwa-Suleja Old Road.
Bello, who was represented by the FCT Permanent Secretary, Dr Babatope Ajakaiye, said the administration was determined to address the menace of street hawking in the Federal Capital City.
The minister gave assurance that the Regional Market would be equipped with quality facilities, to encourage high-level patronage from traders and shoppers alike.
According to him, roadside traders will be evacuated and relocated into the market as there is enough space to accommodate them.
“The market is sitting on about 86 hectares of land with over 6,100 shops to cater for the needs of Abuja traders.
“The structures inside the market had been abandoned for a very long time to illegal occupants who used the facility as hideout for criminal activities.
“This situation must be reversed; already, the illegal occupants have been evicted.”
He commended roadside traders who were complying with orders and relocating to the temporary space provided inside the market, pending re-validation of their papers.
“When commissioned, the market has the potential to reduce pressure on existing markets within the Federal Capital City.
“It will be a hub where major commodity brokers can warehouse their goods and distribute them to other nooks and crannies of the FCT.”
On the issue of petty traders, he said that a section of the market had been earmarked to cater for them while the neighbourhood and formal sections would cater for other different interests.
He advised shopowners to ensure speedy rehabilitation of their shops for the full take-off of the market.
“It is totally unacceptable for people to be hawking in unapproved places.
“The shops in the market are being developed by the beneficiaries while the government is already taking care of infrastructure.
“This includes provision of facilities like parks, gift shops, toilets, storm water drainage, electricity, Police Post, banks and clinic,” the minister said.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) recalls that the Regional Market initially started as International Livestock Market in 1993.
NAN also reports that the FCT Administration granted a temporary allocation of plots to traders to build their shops in line with an approved prototype design. (NAN)
KM/HAS/NKO
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Edited By Hajia Sani/Nkechi Okoronkwo
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