From Okwe Obi, Abuja
Public Convenience Maintenance Association (PCMA) has denied misuse of public toilets as shelters for hoodlums in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Abuja.
PCMA maintained that independent inspections did not revealed any evidence supporting the reported concerns.
There were concerns that hoodlums have taken over public toilets located in areas where there are motor parks in the FCT using the facilities as shelters at nights.
Specifically, the report claimed that belongings of hoodlums in different bags were seen within public toilets at Area 1 roundabout and Lugbe axis.
But reacting, PCMA Secretary in the FCT, Usman Umar, in a satement, yesterday said the organisation viewed the claim as capable of causing disharmony between the Association and the general public.
He said: “The attention of the Public Convenience Maintenance Association (PCMA) Federal Capital Territory (FCT) has been brought to a recent report in one of Nigerian daily newspapers alleging misuse of public toilets as shelters by hoodlums.
“The PCMA firmly denies these claims. We want to emphatically state that our inspections haven’t revealed any evidence supporting the reported concerns.
“We maintain our commitment to providing clean and functional public toilets in order to eradicate open defecation by year 2025 inline with presidential executive order 009 throughout the FCT.
“The PCMA is committed to collaborating with relevant authorities to ensure the safety and proper use of public facilities in Abuja.”
While encouraging citizens with real information about misuse of public toilets to contact it, he appreciated the government initiative (Presidential Executive order 009) to build public toilets and eradicate open defecation.
“The Association uses this opportunity to express its satisfaction on the leadership style of FCT Minister Nyesom Wike and his counterpart, Dr. Mariya Mahmud Bunkure, Executive Director of FCT Rural Water Supply and Sanitation Agency, (RUWASSA), AEPB, FCT Commissioner of Police, Director of DSS and others security agencies for their hard work to secure the lives of FCT residents and keep Abuja clean,” he added.