Hundreds of aggrieved traders at the popular Mpape village market clashed with their colleagues, allegedly working in synergy with authorities of the Bwari area council through the instrumentality of Shape Ideas Project Ltd., a private developer overseeing the ongoing remodelling of the Mpape village market.
The clash occurred at the weekend, when authorities of the Bwari area council, through the instrumentality of the FCTA task team, attempted to reclaim a section of the market reserved for the construction of a parking lot, fire station, and police station as part of the facilities for the market remodel.
It was observed that trouble started when leaders of those affected by the exercise exchanged heated banter with their colleagues cooperating with the government operatives to recover the said space, allegedly slowing down the remodelling process.
While some aggrieved traders voiced their disapproval, others poured stones into the atmosphere, leading to a chaotic scene as people scrambled for safety, thereby causing tension in the densely populated area.
However, it took the intervention of the security operatives that accompanied the task team, who dispersed the surging crowd and prevented the situation from escalating further, even as the exercise was deferred to another time, to allow for an amicable resolution for a hitch-free exercise.
Speaking with newsmen in the area, the Head of Logistics in Bwari Area Council, Mr Audu Amos, said the idea of remodelling the market in Bwari Area Council was conceptualised in 2005 during the reign of Nasiru El’rufai (the former FCT Minister), who approved it for development and remodelling.
Amos added that sometime two years ago when the ministerial task force cleared the place because of security threats at Mpape, the council was asked to go ahead and develop immediately.
He noted that after the council asked its partners to move in, suddenly it was discovered that traders who were trading temporarily in the space revered for police and fire stations, as well as the parking bay, came with court injunctions, which the council authorities went to court and were able to vacate.
He added that there are a lot of options for the would-be displaced traders, as there are facilities for warehouses and open-air market activities in the area.
“As far as the area council is concerned, we are also ready to welcome them. Because they need us as much as we need them, we cannot develop the market and not have people to trade there.
“The chairman has called a meeting several times to look for a way forward and resolve this issue. But they are not forthcoming. If they are ready to come, we will be ready to welcome them.
“But the place should be cleared to pave the way for what it is meant for; it is already congested and has taken over the whole road. And you can see the volume of heavy-duty equipment that applies, which is a risk on the road to trade.
“Based on what I heard, we have given them 1 week, and if they are willing to come up, we believe that by Monday or Tuesday, they should make an appearance in the office. And if they don’t come, we will still come and clear, so that peace may reign and there will be a free flow of traffic,” he stressed.
Similarly, the CEO of Shape Ideas Project Ltd., Dr Mrs Amunega Ajayi, said when the firm moved to the site to commence construction, the affected pleaded that they be allowed to remain, pending when the space would be needed, and then they would vacate for them to work.
This, Ajayi noted, was a great decision the company made, as they now went to court and insisted that they have a right in the modern market, with over 300 shops and an open market for petty traders.
According to her, “When we were given the allocation to come and work here, they told me that they didn’t have anywhere else to go and that we should just allow them to stay in the market. I said fine, when we finish building shops, they should vacate the car park. Unfortunately, that was a great mistake that we made at that time.
“So, we said that we have finished building the market, but we need to build the police station, a hospital in the market, a fire service office in the market, and even the civil defence office, but they said no, that we are in court.
“The last time we went to court was on January 31, 20. They said they wanted a settlement with us. The judge said they should go and meet us for settlement, which they never did. They wanted us to stop working completely. But, on that day, the court vacated all orders to stop us from working. That was why we continued working on the site.”
However, one of the leaders of the aggrieved traders, who took the issue to court, Alhaji Awwal Abdul Dogo, said that although at the court they were told that their market allocations had expired, they obtained a court order to carry on their trading activities at the site pending the settlement of the matter.
He said, “We were the ones the local government gave allocation to; we built our shops ourselves, and at the end, the local government said they wanted to collect the market, but we knew we had our rights and documents, so we took the matter to court.
“Three days after we were back from the court, they brought a task force to chase us away. I asked, What have we done? It was not like they asked us for dialogue, and we didn’t comply.
“But now that they said it’s dialogue they want, we are ready for that. They know our lawyer, and we know their lawyer. We are ready to move out of that if that’s the conclusion of the court.”
On his part, the former chairman of the hitherto Mpape Village market, Alhaji Sa’edu Shuaibu Baru, said they were duly notified of the ongoing remodelling of the marketing, the expiration of their temporary allocation, and the council’s refusal to renew it.
Baru, who disclosed that while most of them have been cooperating with the government and the private developer, through which they are getting shop allocation to trade, a few recalcitrant traders have continued to insist on taking over any available space within and around the market, thereby making it very unsafe for business.
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