FCTA frowns at theft of gully inlets, manhole covers

The Permanent Secretary, Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA), Mr Olusade Adesola, has decried the repeated vandalisation…

The Permanent Secretary, Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA), Mr Olusade Adesola, has decried the repeated vandalisation and theft of gully inlets, manhole covers and other flood containment infrastructure on Abuja roads.

Mr Adesola, who spoke after a flood assessment tour of parts of the city at the weekend, lamented that gully inlets and manhole covers that were recently replaced by the FCTA had been vandalised and stolen, leading to suboptimal performance of the drainage system and consequent flooding on some roads.

He expressed shock that even the gully inlets and manhole covers made of ductile materials that were of little or no second-hand value had been vandalised.

He, therefore, called for collaborative support of residents by reporting any unusual or suspicious observations to relevant security agencies for prompt action in order to forestall the ugly situation.

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He further said, “Earlier in the week, we undertook a visit to the flood sites of Lokogoma, Trademore, among others. The destruction caused by the flood in those areas was 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 drainage system.’’

Speaking on the cost implication of installing gully inlet covers and replacing stolen infrastructure in the FCT, the permanent secretary said, “For instance, this afternoon, before embarking on this trip, we did a cursory review of what this costs.

“In a distance of one kilometre, we can have more than 20, 30 floodwater covers, gully inlet covers and maybe one or two or three manhole covers, and each gully inlet costs not less than N500,000. Now, if you multiply this by 20 kilometres, 80 kilometres, 200 kilometres, you know what this translates to. And this is in the face of very competing needs for the meagre resources that we have. This underscores the need for everyone to support the efforts of the government to protect this road infrastructure.”

Mr Adesola also cautioned the public who dump refuse into drains to desist from doing so.