By Ben Adoga
In its current war against illegal roadside workshops and other commercial activities, the FCT Administration on Thursday impounded 30 vehicles and arrested six defaulters within the city centre of the FCT.

The seizure and arrests were made during an operation that started from the AYA Junction in Asokoro District.

Senior Special Assistant to FCT Minister on Monitoring, Inspection and Enforcement, Ikharo Attah said the exercise was a series of wars the administration has been launching against illegalities in a bid to keep Abuja clean and safe for all.

Attah who decried the persistent environmental nuisances in some parts of the city, stated that with the support of FCT Ministers, the joint team involved in the city sanitation exercise, won’t relent, but sustain the tempo.
He noted that the illegal mechanic workshops, and motor parks operators had been warned severally to vacate the locations, but refused to comply.

He disclosed that the suspects arrested during the operation would be charged to Court by a relevant agency of government, while the fate of all impounded vehicles solely depends on the verdict of a competent court of jurisdiction.

” Our plan for sustainability is to keep doing the job. That is the only way we can defeat illegalities. Look at the number of condemned tyres that are being evacuated from a highbrow district of Asokoro.

“Attempting to stop doing what we are doing will mean losing the city, but we won’t allow that.
This exercise is a combined war against illegalities. We have launched a war against illegal construction and shanties and now unapproved mechanic workshops. We are determined to address all the illegalities holistically.”

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Also speaking, Kaka Bello, Deputy Director of Enforcement in Abuja Environmental Protection Board, (AEPB) said the intensity of the cleaning exercise was increased to match the strength of those bent on destroying the ambience of the city with their illegal activities.

Bello noted that Abuja Environmental Protection Board ( AEPB) had strived to keep the city sanitation upbeat despite the attacks by those promoting illegalities.

Baba Abubakar, Director at FCT Directorate of Road Traffic Services ( DRTS) said more synergy will be created by relevant agencies to ensure that operators of the illegal mechanic workshops do not return.

The cleanup exercise terminated at the Jabi district, where some illegal structures were removed.