From Garki to NEPA Junction, down to the present Buffer Zone, Apo Mechanic Village has changed places in the last 38 years. Yet again, the Federal Capital Development Authority(FCDA) has asked the traders to relocate to Wasa but they have remained adamant. In this report, KEHINDE OSASONA states why the traders have refused to obey the eviction order.
In Abuja and around the Federal Capital Territory(FCT), almost every vehicle owner knows Apo mechanic village and more than half of them have gone there at one time or the other. Sprawling on over 30,000 hectares, the vast land is a business and technology hub, where different auto spare parts are sold or cobbled together as millions of naira change hands daily.
In fact, the part of just about any vehicle brand and model can be found in this place as it is the ‘final bus stop’ for every auto repairer. Apart from mechanics, an assortment of traders also sell their wares at the so called mechanics village. Accessible and easy to describe, Apo Mechanic Village is also a meeting point of some sorts, where customers, mechanics and vehicle owners navigate how to fix auto problems or buy just about everyday comodities.
Unfortunately, an eviction order has been issued to the mechanics and traders to relocate to Wasa by the Federal Capital Development Authority(FCDA), for them to give right of way.
In plain language, a proposed road construction will pass through the auto village and in over riding public interest, the mechanics should leave the place. However, the directive is yet to be complied with and it may pitch the mechanics against FCDA officials.
How it all started
Significantly, the Apo mechanics and traders have been plying their trade in the area for a long time. According to Blueprint Weekend’s findings, they relocated from Garki about 38 years ago before settling at what is now called Old Apo at NEPA junction. In 2006, the Federal Capital Territory(FCT) authorities asked them to relocate again because the place was marked for demolition, our correspondent have found out.
According to an insider, government gave the traders only 48 hours to vacate the area. Thereafter, they moved to the present site which is officially known as Buffer Zone by FCDA. Before then, FCDA had asked Abuja Municipal Area Council (AMAC) to give the mechanics temporary allocation land papers, which will give them legal cover to build temporary sheds.
Before that was achieved, they have been asked to leave the Buffer Zone to Wasa, a place located deeper down. However, the mechanics are now making demands before leaving the present Mechanic Village. First, they want a resettlement plan and the provision of infrastructure. In addition, they want compensation for their properties. Although our correspondent was unable to find out when the deadline for eviction order will expire, the traders in Apo Mechanic Village seem to be in no mood to relocate.
A case for compensation
Significantly, the traders are very bitter about the eviction order but most of them refused to speak to Blueprint Weekend for fear of victimisation. Those who volunteered information spoke on condition of anonymity.
However, most of the traders who spoke to our reporter lamented bitterly how previous evictions indebted them to banks and individuals. Emeka (Not real name) explained that it took him five year after the eviction from Old Apo to balance financially as the forced movement took toll on his business.
According to him, ‘’many of us borrowed money to stay in this business only for us to be chased every time, for altering Abuja developmental plan. My question is, are we not eligible to ply our trades or can’t the government resettle us once and for all? As I speak, some have died of frustrations while others have left Abuja for God knows where’’. Chief Chimeizie Ifeh, the President General of Apo Traders Association said many of his members have died of heart attack because of the earlier demolition. Most of the surviving, according to him, are suffering from hypertension and heart related ailments. ‘’They forced us to come to this new area, the estate opposite us was very bushy with no infrastructural provision or access road and we had no option than to start afresh,’’ the President General recalled. He queried why government is refusing to compensate them after using their hard-earned money to build structures and provide facilities.
FCT Minister’s intervention
In 2010, the Apo traders wrote letters to the former FCT Minister, Senator Bala Mohammed, where they reeled out their complaints and asked government to solve them. This led to a series of meetings between the minister and the representatives of the Apo mechanic traders. Speaking further, Ifeh recalled that the former FCT minister made a lot of promises. ‘’At a point, he ordered the Urban and Regional Planning department to provide us a new place. ‘’
After that, the department asked Apo traders to pay some amount which ‘’we did and before his tenure expired, they gave us a land in Wasa with a letter of intent but other documents that we need in order to enable us enter the site were not given to us.’’
Panic, mixed feelings trail new eviction order
Our correspondent’s findings reveal that the new eviction order has sent jittery down the spines of Apo traders.
President General Ifeh recalled how their present travails started. ‘’ Three years ago, they came here to say that we should move out of the Buffer zone again, and we asked them then if there will be new provision for us after moving out. I reminded them that the traders here are over 5,000. The shops they demolished in old Apo, have they resettled those people or compensated them? Why can’t the people at Development and Control tell Nigerians the truth,’’? Ifeh quipped.
FCDA reacts
When contacted, an official of FCDA who prefers to remain anonymous, told Blueprint Weekend that the present Buffer zone is a road corridor where construction will soon reach. ‘’They (Apo traders) are sitting on the right of way, the place is a public facility and it is in buffer zone. For this reason, they are not entitled to any form of compensation. For your information, what the Apo traders have there are not permanent structures and they knew that they would move out eventually,’’ he pointed out. The official promised to treat the traders with respect and dignity when enforcing the eviction order but ruled out the issue of compensation.
However, another source at Development and Control department confirmed to our reporter that the FCDA gave Apo traders the consent to occupy the Buffer zone. He quickly added that provision has been made for them to move to Wasa, an area where government intends to settle all operators in the informal sectors like mechanics, traders and spare part dealers, including block and furniture makers.
The official noted that the traders were aware that they are illegal squatters. ‘’I think they are aware that the place was a right of way and in anything that government does, there is always the consideration for public interest which supersedes individual interest,’’ he argued. The official further pointed out that It is not Development and Control that is asking them to vacate, but FCDA which is constructing the road.
SOS to new FCT Minister
As a way of averting the impending face-off, the Apo traders appeal to the FCT Minister Mallam Muhammad Musa Bello to come to their aid. According to Chief Ifeh, ‘’we have met the minister thrice and he promised to look into our case. He said that as responsible traders and citizens of Nigeria, Apo traders are ‘’tired of this frequent evictions without infrastructural provisions, adequate security to secure our investment, accessible road and proper compensation.’’ The President General hinted that these conditions must be met before the traders move to Wasa.
