Engr. Osilama Briamah, Director of the AEPB, said this to journalists at a meeting of the Task Team convened by the FCTA Permanent Secretary, Mr. Olusade Adesola, to recover nearly N10 billion owed to the AEPB by various government agencies, businesses, and residential complexes in the FCT.

He said the Task Team which is to be headed by him, has been mandated to apply all legal means to recover the huge sums of money from the debtors, adding that the debts accrued over time due to the failure of those concerned to pay for services rendered to them by the AEPB.

“All of us desire to live and work in a world-class city compared to other beautiful cities around the world. But we can only do that successfully if we behave as responsible citizens by paying our utility bills, especially for solid and liquid waste collection.

“Unfortunately, many agencies, residential apartments, hotels, plazas, and so on, are not paying their bills as expected. That makes it difficult to raise the money needed to manage a mega-city like Abuja.

“Beginning from 5:30am on Tuesday, April 19, based on a court order already obtained by the AEPB, the Task Team will embark on mass seal-up of these facilities to recover the huge money being owed,” he said.

He bemoaned the fact that the AEPB had attempted, but failed, to give a soft landing for the debtors through a negotiated settlement, and that the only alternative left was to use legal methods to close up the affected buildings by enforcing the court order.

The Director, on the other hand, stated that the concerned debtors can prevent the approaching shame by paying their debts on time.

Payments may be done easily using the Remita platform, according to Briamah.