Wuye market developer explains delay in start of business

The developer of Wuye Ultra-modern Market, All Purpose Shelters Limited (APSL) has cleared the air on what made the company unable to operate the commissioned market.

The Public Relations Officer of APSL, Comrade Tosin Adeyanju while addressing journalists explained that the FCDA in 2003 through Abuja Investment Company advertised for bidding of building of four new markets at Wuye, Garki, Kaura and Mabushi on a Build Operate and Transfer (BOT) through Public Private Partnership (PPP) arrangement and the company won the bid.

He said after winning the bid amongst other bidders, the company got a condition from government to sell the shops to traders on the list handed to it totaling 5,605 subscribers.

According to him, the company approached three banks namely: Ecobank, First Bank and UBA for loan to execute the project which the banks responded after all documentations were verified and the C of O (in the name of Abuja Investment Company ) were deposited as collateral for the loan.

Adeyanju pointed out that construction work began immediately after the loans were granted but the project began to encounter problems when some traders began to politicize it.

He said problems started arising when a group of 707 traders among the 5,605 handed over to it by government came up with a request that they are entitled to the shops free because they have provisional allocation letters and had paid the sums of N2,000, N5,000 and N8,000 as administrative charges to FCDA.