By Ukpa Ewa
The Awka Capital Territory Development Authority (ACTDA) has continued its Operation Keep Awka Clean, a long standing environmental sanitation and enforcement initiative aimed at improving public safety, urban standards and aesthetic outlook of Awka, Anambra State capital.
Addressing journalists in Awka, the Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of ACTDA, Dr. Ossy Onuko, said the operation is a continuous drive that has been ongoing for over three years, targeting the removal of illegal structures, shanties and other forms of environmental disorder within the city.
Dr. Onuko disclosed that since the inception of the exercise, the authority has dismantled over 500 illegal structures and shanties. He explained that such structures pose serious security risks, obstruct walkways, drainages and public spaces and often serve as hideouts for criminal elements.
He emphasised that the enforcement exercise is designed to reposition Awka in line with acceptable urban planning standards, adding that a clean, orderly, and well regulated environment is critical to public safety, ease of movement and economic activities.
To cushion the impact on traders affected by the exercise, Dr. Onuko said ACTDA had provided alternative trading locations in strategic parts of the city, citing the Solution Arena along Abakaliki Street, where modern and organised open shops with public amenities have been developed to accommodate displaced traders.
“While the government remains sensitive to the economic realities facing residents, public infrastructure such as walkways, drainages and road setbacks must remain unobstructed,” he said, adding that designated open spaces have been secured to accommodate petty traders and tricycle operators as part of ongoing decongestion efforts.
The ACTDA Boss further stressed that the exercise is not targeted at any individual or business, but is carried out in the overall interest of public order and environmental sustainability. He reaffirmed that the administration of Governor Chukwuma Charles Soludo is committed to enforcing urban regulations with empathy, responsibility and fairness.
Also speaking, the Head of ACTDA Development Control Unit, Mr. Charles Ekwunife, noted that many traders, both indigenes and non-indigenes, continue to violate road setback regulations by displaying goods and erecting structures on pedestrian walkways and road.
“Despite repeated notices and previous enforcement exercises, offenders often return to road setbacks,” Mr. Ekwunife said, adding that ACTDA will sustain enforcement until all encroachments are removed across major and inner roads within Awka Capital Territory.
