By Philip Yatai
THE FEDERAL Capital Territory Administration (FCTA), has registered 11,000 traders and artisans in Apo Mechanic Village for relocation to the permanent site in Wasa District, Abuja.
Chief Felix Obuah, Coordinator, Abuja Metropolitan Management Council (AMMC), stated this during a meeting with stakeholders in Abuja on Thursday.
Obuah explained that the meeting was organised to provide updates on the ongoing enumeration of traders and artisans in Apo Mechanic Village for relocation to Wasa.
He added that the meeting was also to discuss the design and site plans among other issues.
He said that the registration for the allocation of space at Wasa was pegged at N300,000, adding that 11,000 persons have so far obtained the form and made payments.
He, however, expressed concern that some dubious individuals were taking advantage of the situation to extort unsuspecting traders.
He explained that the unidentified individuals, including some union leaders of the traders and artisans were collecting N650,000 from the traders as against the N300,000 approved by FCTA.
“People are desperate, that is why I came here to tell them this is what we are doing.
“I will carry every stakeholder along in every process, and at the end, whoever is allocated a shop in the permanent site, his or her name will be published,” he said.
The coordinator warned that anyone caught collecting money from unsuspecting traders, including those not on the road corridor and promising them land, would be arrested and prosecuted.
While acknowledging the difficulties faced in dealing with the traders, Obuah noted that over 45,000 names were submitted initially by different unions.
Describing the lists as “inflated”, the coordinator said that the blotted names, among other false claims, have made the council to conduct physical enumeration of the affected traders.
“We have invited the stakeholders of Apo traders, mainly all the association heads, to tell them how far we have gone in the relocation processes.
“We informed them the essence of the enumeration, the essence of the form, how many people have paid and what we intend to do going forward,” the coordinator added.
He explained that the relocation was mainly for traders on the road corridor and those in the buffer areas.
He said that the meeting became necessary following the discovery that most of the union leaders have collected money from people that were not having any business at Apo mechanic village.
Obuah assured that the registration and enumeration exercise would be concluded before the end of November. (NAN)
