FCTA Relocates 11,000 Apo mechanic traders to Wasa

11,000 merchants and craftspeople in Apo Mechanic Village have been registered by the Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA) to move to the permanent location in Wasa District, Abuja.

At a meeting with stakeholders in Abuja on Thursday, Chief Felix Obuah, Coordinator, Abuja Metropolitan Management Council, or AMMC, made this statement.

The purpose of the meeting, according to Mr. Obuah, was to give updates on the current count of traders and craftspeople in Apo Mechanic Village who will be moving to Wasa.

He noted that among other things, the purpose of the meeting was to talk about the site plans and design.

According to him, 11,000 people have already received the form and paid for it, and the registration fee for the Wasa space allotment is N300,000.

However, he voiced concern that some suspicious people were exploiting the situation to blackmail unwary dealers.

He clarified that, in contrast to the N300,000 that FCTA had authorized, the unnamed individuals—among them, certain union leaders of the traders and artisans—were taking N650,000 from the traders.

“I came here to tell people that this is what we are doing because they are in a critical situation.

“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.

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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.

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“We have extended an invitation to Apo merchants’ stakeholders, primarily all association leaders, to update them on our progress in the relocation procedures.

The coordinator went on to say, “We told them the main points of the enumeration, the main points of the form, the number of people who have paid, and our future plans.”

He clarified that the relocation was primarily for traders in the buffer zones and on the road corridor.

He claimed that the conference was required after it was discovered that the majority of union leaders had taken money from Apo mechanic village residents who had no business there.

Before the end of November, Mr. Obuah promised, the registration and enumeration process would be completed.