The Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA) has decried the repeated vandalism and theft of expensive gully inlets, manhole covers and other flood containment infrastructure on Abuja roads.
The Permanent Secretary, FCTA, Mr. Olusade Adesola stated this Sunday after a flood assessment tour of parts of the city over the weekend.
He expressed shock that even the gully inlets and manhole covers made of ductile materials that were of little or no second-hand value, have also been targeted by the vandals, leaving a very worrisome situation in the FCT.
The Permanent Secretary lamented that expensive gully inlet and manhole covers that were recently replaced by the FCTA have been vandalized and stolen, leading to suboptimal performance of the drainage systems and consequent flooding on some city roads.
He spaid the incessant vandalism and theft of these expensive public infrastructure and their accessories, have become untenable in the FCT, in the wake of the dwindling resources of government and other competing interests.
Olusade said: “Earlier in the week, we undertook a visit to the flood sites of Lokogoma and Trademore, amongst others. The destruction caused by the flood in those areas were really touching. But we knew that equally within the city, there are pockets of flash floods and flooding of some areas due to suboptimal performance of our drainages and we also knew that efforts were made to address these challenges.
“So, today what we did, as part of efforts to rid the city of flooding, was to go round and visit some of the locations where we have had some flooding during this rainy season and to also see the works that we are doing to address them.
“So, overall, our assessment has been that to rid the city of flooding is a collective responsibility. The manhole covers that were placed on this particular road, last year, have been removed. They were not removed by ghosts. They were removed by people and this is Federal Capital City where we have all the law enforcement agencies present.
“We want to beckon to every citizen and our law enforcement agencies to support the efforts of the FCTA in protecting lives and properties through the provision of road infrastructure. A lot of resources are committed to replacing these manholes, but not long after they are replaced, they are removed. On this particular road that we are, ductile materials that were thought to be of little or no second-hand value were installed. But shockingly today, all of them have been removed and nobody has been arrested for removing any.”