By Remi Johnson
The Federal Capital Territory Administration, through its Abuja Metropolitan Management Council, AMMC, has warned Apo Mechanic union members and traders against indulging in the mischief of double registration in the ongoing relocation plan of affected traders to Wassa.
Other artisans who are neither mechanics nor traders along the Apo road corridors are also advised not to apply for the exercise, with a warning that the cost of registration is not refundable.
The Coordinator, AMMC, Chief Felix Obuah who gave the warning in Abuja during a meeting organized for the traders to ensure seamless and transparent relocation, said the exercise is strictly meant for mechanics and traders that were initially on that Apo axis.
He emphasized that the official cost of registration is (#300,000) three hundred thousand naira only.
He warned Union leaders racketeering the process, promising people land, padding the list of affected persons with imaginary/ ghost names, and collecting over #300 thousand from unsuspecting individuals to desist from such act, or face the wrath of the law.
Chief Obuah who explained that the FCT Minister, Nyesom Wike, has zero tolerance for insincerity, threatened that the FCT Administration would not hesitate to hand over anyone found to be sabotaging the good efforts of government to the security agencies.
According to chief Obuah, the decision to relocate the Apo traders was to ensure that no genuine businessmen and women on the road corridors of Apo mechanic village lose their source of livelihood as a result of the ongoing road construction.
Chief Obuah who frowns at the insincerity of some Union leaders said over 11, 000 applicants have so far submitted their application for the relocation exercise to Wasa District, while others are pledging for more time to gather money to apply.
He assured that allocation of the land for the construction of shops would be transparent and finalized before the end of this month , with names of alottees published for public scrutiny.
Chief Obuah added that investigation are ongoing to ascertain weather the applicants that have submitted their applications are actually the right people.
“We are now trying to make sure that those people who apply are traders on the road corridor before we shortlist.
“If we allow people who are close to power to come for it, most of the people doing businesses in that corridor will not even have a shop. So, we assure them that we are taking our time to make sure that we do the needful ” Obuah noted.
On the rumours making round that Wassa has already been allocated to government officials, chief Obuah explained ” Rumor has it that those shops have been given out to government officials, to girlfriends and brothers, but I was able to make it plain to all of them, that not even one has been given out. And the FCT Minister has given us a matching order that those people who are doing business in the road corridor must be given this thing.”
“The meeting was actually meant to brief them( Apo Mechanic Traders) how far we have gone with the arrangement of reloocating them to wasa.
“We also discovered that some of this union people have gone ahead, collecting over #650,000 to #1million naira…I have told them clearly, that government is not here to make money, but to make sure that we give them a permanent place.
“Today, We are able to show them the master plan, the layout and how far we have gone. I am also telling them that it is purely for those of them in the road corridor and those of them in the buffer areas. These forms are not meant for people who are not trading along the corridor.
“I have discovered that most of them have gone as far as collecting money from people who are not having any business in Apo.Few of them are buying as much as 10, 20, 100, thereby depriving the genuine people on road corridor. That will not work here”. Obuah declared.
Responding, two members of the Apo Mechanic traders Mr Michael Ndubisi and Daniel Mba commended the FCT Minister and AMMC for putting certain parameters in place to ensure that nobody hijacked the exercise.