Abuja Park Operators Express Worry Over Decline In Business 

As the FCT Administration begin the enforcement of the 7 pm closing time for Park operators, park operators have expressed their disappointment after the enforcement team stormed some parks to shut down their business activities. 

 Ngozika Ejiofor, a park operator, on Tuesday, lamented that government policies are always targetted at the poor without consideration on their welfares.

Ejiofor said the park operation became her source of livelihood as she was sacked from her job during the COVID-19 pandemic as staying at home was not an option.

"The pandemic took away my office job, i have kids to feed my husbands salary cannot take us half a month and as a mother i cannot watch my children hungry without doing anything.

" They want us to stop selling by 7pm, when in the real sense that is when this business begins,that is when workers come to experience the night fun if we close by this time it will be a huge loss for us.

"Why is it that government's law are always targetting the poor, i know these people after asking us to close at this time we need to make sales and knowing that we will have less money in our pockets,they will still expect us to pay those their outrageous fines and all," she lamented.

The enforcement which commenced at the popular  Eden Garden, Jabi moved to Par Excellence Waterfalls and Park, Unity Global Garden, and Grillzhut Garden all in Wuse Zone 5, Deli Restaurant and Garden, Wuse zone 4 and ended at City Park, Wuse II.  

Some of the parks improvised means to ensure their businesses were not affected by the new policy as well as to avoid being caught in the act by the roving enforcement team. 

Senior Special Assistant on Monitoring, Inspection and Enforcement to FCT Minister, Ikharo Attah said enforcing the policy was not meant to kill people's businesses, but to instill a sense of sanity to the parks and recreation sector.  

Expectedly, this can not happen without lamentations from the operators who bemoaned loss of revenues following the disruption.