FCT restates zero tolerance to street begging, hawking

Wed, Aug 1, 2018 | By publisher


Environment

THE Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA) says it has zero tolerance to activities of street beggars and hawkers in Abuja metropolis.

The Director, Social Development Affair, FCT Social Development Secretariat, Mrs Felicia Omuobi, said this in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Tuesday in Abuja.

“It is the duty of the FCTA to make the beggars and hawkers understand that the FCT Administration has zero tolerance to activities such as begging, hawking on the street.

“We have put in place legitimate skills acquisition centres for them to learn trades and businesses.

“Having interacted with some of the beggars and hawkers we realise that they just want to make a living in Abuja though not doing legitimate business but seeking easy way of making a living,’’ she added.

According to her, surprisingly a destitute not once not twice has been found on the street in a very bad health situation, and was taken to hospitals.

“But only for us to discover on him some huge amount of money. All that is required of them is just a token to take care of themselves.

“I think it is a strong desire on them to think begging is a legitimate business,’’ she said.

Omuobi solicited for a stricter law that will back up what the administration is doing toward combating the menace of street begging, hawking and other illegal businesses.

“Our mobile courts are supposed to be in place to be trying offenders that might commit any of the crime above.

“If you are tried and given the penalty for criminal activity then you know that there is a law on that, as some people don’t know that what they are doing is an act criminality.

“The beggars see Abuja as a centre of business, they believe that they can make more money in here than in the state.

“At the state people give five, ten Naira only while here a person can dole out N1000, therefore, they risk their lives in coming to Abuja for begging because of what they are getting,’’ she added.

Omuobi explained that trades and businesses were set up for the street beggars so that they would have something to fall back on.

She, however, noted that the businesses were to make life easy and worthwhile for them instead of begging on the streets.

“They do not want to be called beggars because they see themselves as though they are doing a normal job because they believed they are not stealing.

“However, we have put in place training centres where we trained them on different skills such as makeup, tailoring, metal work, braids, beads making etc.

“Some of these destitute are trainable while some are not trainable,’’ she said.

The director noted that the Abuja Environmental Protection Board (AEPB) do the arrest, hand over to the secretariat, who took the arrested destitute to the training centre located at Bwari, where they are train on different skills.

She said sometimes the secretariat discovered that some of them were apprehended wrongly, “what I mean is that being at the wrong place at the wrong time.’’

“If the family writes to us, this is my wife or this is my child, with proper profile we release them to the family.

“But they must sign an undertaking that if the person is found on the street again, he or she will pay for the crime, ’’ she warned.

Omuobi said for those who were trained, were usually empowered by the secretariat with starter-pack, some stipend to start the business, and from time to time we follow up when the necessary.

She added that the government has been trying as work is ongoing right now at the Lugbe centre where commercial sex workers are being trained on various skills.

The director also stated that the last graduation at the Bwari centre was held 2 years ago, saying that efforts are on for the combined graduation of backlog of trainees soon.

She explained that the secretariat had discovered that some of the sick persons begging on the streets were fake; when we took some of them to the hospital, we discovered that they were faking the illness.(NAN)

Aug. 01, 2018 @ 12:45 GMT |

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