The Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA) has assured the safety of residents during the Christmas and New Year celebrations.
The Chief Press Secretary to FCTA, Mr Anthony Ogunleye, said this in a statement, on Wednesday, in Abuja.
Ogunleye explained that the FCT Minister of State, Dr Ramatu Aliyu, gave the assurance at the monthly FCT Security Committee meeting.
Aliyu said the G7, (states contiguous to the FCT) were working in synergy to ensure a hitch free celebration in the nation’s capital and across the zone.
She urged residents to abide by all the extent non-pharmaceutical COVID-19 preventive measures by the NCDC, which includes hand washing, facial coverings and physical distancing.
She also urged all business owners to make sure that their premises had hand sanitizers, other COVID-19 preventive items and ensure the compliance of their customers and clients to extant measures or risk being shut down.
Also, the FCT Commissioner of Police, Babaji Sunday, disclosed that the FCT Police Command in collaboration with other security agencies had intensified security operations such as the raiding of identified black spots, increased night patrols and stop and search operations.
According to him, these measures will ensure a hitch free yuletide celebration.
He called for the cooperation of residents of the FCT, whom he urged to be security conscious and give useful information to the security agencies.
“We should be security conscious and help others to be security conscious. Know the places you go, the friends you keep and don’t move about during late hours,” he said.
On his part, the Onah of Abaji, Dr Adamu Yunusa, on behalf of the traditional rulers, pledged the support of the traditional institutions to the security and health agencies in the maintenance of security and prevention of the spread of COVID-19 during the yuletide period.
Present at the meeting were the Permanent Secretary FCTA, Mr Olusade Adesola, the Chief of Staff to the FCT Minister, Malam Bashir Mai-Bornu, and the Executive Secretary of Federal Capital Development Authority, Shehu Ahmed.
Others were the heads of the various military and para-military formations in the FCT, religious leaders, Mandate Secretaries of the FCTA as well as other relevant officials.