Hoodlums take over Abuja Regional Market following years of neglect
The Abuja Regional Market was conceived during the early days of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) while work started in 2005 when the then minster, Malam Nasir el-Rufai, inaugurated the project in a bid to decongest many markets scattered across the city centre.
Situated in the Dei-Dei area of the Abuja Municipal Area Council, the market was designed to accommodate all categories of traders - wholesalers and retailers of various goods and services, including textiles and foodstuff.
reports that the market, which has been categorised into A,B,C and D sections, has 10,000 lockup shops, as well as open spaces aimed at accommodating both big and petty traders.
There are provisions for a parking lot, public convenience, restaurants, banking facilities, as well as 400 warehouses.
Close to the market is a dedicated land meant for trailer park, with direct access to a road network that would link the area to the Abuja railway station located at Idu and another one leading to the Zuba expressway for easy transportation of heavy trucks in and out of the market.
Shops in the markets were partly built by traders, mostly from the former New Market at the city centre, who were allocated spaces for immediate development as compensation. Many others were built by other investors.
The secretary of traders in the market and shop owners’ association, Benjamin Oroh, described the market as a mini Nigeria as people from all parts of the country invested huge money there.
“That is the only large market in the country that I know of, where you can find people from different parts of Nigeria owning shops. We refer to the market as a mini Nigeria because you can see the rich and the poor here investing in compliance to government’s directive.
“From inception, we paid various levies that were used in building some of the infrastructures here. Some of them are still visible while others have been ruined by vandals,” Aroh said.
The chairman of the traders and shop owners association in the market, Tukur Abubakar, said most of the shops were built between 2005 and 2007 after a groundbreaking ceremony.
“That was when the then FCT minister, Malam Nasir el-Rufai was paying unscheduled visits to the market personally to ensure full compliance. The market was about 75 per cent complete within just two years. Thereafter, it is yet to be completed as subsequent administrations didn’t key into the project.
“As a result of this, people from all walks of life relocated into the market and converted most of its completed shops to living apartments; hence the facility has been taken over by all types of characters, both men and women. And there is nothing we can do about them as they have refused to leave. However, there was a time they left the market following sustained pressure from the government.
“There was a time the immediate past minister, Malam Muhammad Musa Bello visited the market on two or three occasions and made an attempt to complete the structures. He even set up a committee under the leadership of the director of the Abuja Metropolitan Management Council, the late Hajiya Safiya. He set December 2016 as the deadline for the market to be commissioned, but unfortunately, the attention of the committee was diverted by other things.
“Instead of the committee to focus on the regional market, their attention moved to neighbouring informal markets like the tomato and dan-maciji markets, among others.
“They ended up not doing anything about the market, apart from clearing grasses,” he said.
He further said hoodlums had taken over some of the structures, constituting a huge challenge to investors as they burgle shops, remove doors, windows and even roofing sheets and steal items. They also removed government-owned infrastructures like water supply facilities, electric cables attached to poles, as well as valuables from transformers.
He noted that the hoodlums constituted security challenges, not only to the market but its neigbourhood.
He charged the FCT Administration to revisit the project and ensure that the market takes off.
“The most needed basic thing is to build an access road that leads to Idu train station and extend it to Zuba expressway, as well as expand the road that leads to Dei-Dei junction. We were told that the road that leads to Idu was awarded but we have not heard anything else after that.
“There is also the need to drive away hoodlums and other people who live in the market to encourage investors.
“And if the shop owners are no longer interested, let the ownership of the shops be revoked and let them be reallocated to willing individuals,” he suggested.
Daily Trust Saturday further learnt that all the completed warehouses are currently being used as storage facilities, mostly by traders operating in nearby markets.
Speaking in that regard, Tukur Abubakar disclosed that only 1,000 lockup shops in the market were used by genuine individuals, while the remaining 9,000 were occupied illegally, even as most of the shops were vandalised at various stages.
“Government is always complaining about the issue of insecurity; and here, you have people that have not been profiled, even by shop owners, let alone the government.
“We have done everything within our power to take them out of the market but unsuccessfully. We have written to various security agencies, including the
FCT police command, State Security Service (SSS) on different occasions.
“The government agency mandated to oversee the market, which is the Abuja Market Management Limited (AMML), is no longer operating their office within the facility. They have abandoned it for a long time.
“They only come once in a while, but they continue to collect their gate charges; that’s all.
“You have all sorts of people in the market, and no one knows where they are coming from. Some of them have given birth to children here and even buried their dead ones.
“There’s a case of a woman who gave birth to a baby here a couple of days ago and was planning to run away before the police were informed and she was arrested,” the market leader said.
He said there was the need to develop the market and build access roads, as well as drive away hoodlums and traders operating by the road corridors leading to the market.
Abubakar, however, expressed hope that with the current minister of the FCT, Nyesom Wike, who he described as a good leader, especially in terms of developing infrastructure, the market would soon start full operation.
“I am sure that the minister is fully aware of the state of the Dei-Dei market. Many things were already said about the market, and as I am talking to you today, he has the report on it. The Abuja Investment Company Limited and the Abuja Market Management Limited have submitted their reports on the market, so we call on Mr Project to do the needful about the market.
“As we know, the present FCT Administration needs to develop more revenue sources, provide employment and adequate security. There is the need to develop the market and open it up for business,” he concluded.
Meanwhile, reacting, the Managing Director M.D, Abuja Market Management Limited, Eng Abbas Yakubu has said there is a plan to eradicate hoodlums within the market, as well as engaging a security firm to look after the facility.
He also noted that shops owners that are yet develope would be invited and be given direction to either build or get them revoked.
He said the agency would collaborate with the Abuja development control as well as the Abuja Environmental Protection Agency AEPB to ensure that all traders operating around the roadside.
“Every leader has a pet project every year, and my pet project this year is to use these strategists which I hope would reawaken that market insha Allah, “said the M.D.