FCT issues ultimatum to banks, shopping plazas over illegal gates

The Federal Capital Territory Ministerial Task Team on Traffic Control has ordered banks and owners of shopping plazas around Dutsen Alhaji first gate to change their entry gates within 72 hours.

The Chairman of the team, Mr Ikharo Attah, gave the directives when he led the team and officials of the Department of Development Control and Abuja Environmental Protection Board on a tour of the premises on Monday, in Abuja.

Attah said that the property owners around the area had altered the plan by making their entrances to face the dual carriageway instead of the approved main entrance facing the street behind.

He explained that the bank and other business premises had converted the road shoulders as their parking spaces, adding that short fences were constructed which stretched into the already congested road, now under reconstruction.

‘‘After inspecting the area, we have issued a 72-hour notice to the bank and owners of shopping plazas around the area to immediately seal off their current entrance gates with block walls or face severe sanctions,” Attah said.

Mrs Blessing Ugochukwu, Dutsen-Alhaji and Dawaki District Development

Control Officer, also directed the officials working with her to mark the buildings for entrance point contravention.

“Bulldozers will soon be rolling in, if the property owners fail to do the needful,” she said.

The team also inspected the ever-busy Monday

Market at Dutse Alhaji, where Mr Kaka Bello of AEPB reaffirmed that the market must never return to the roadside again. (NAN)