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From Isaac Anumihe, Abuja
As insecurity in the country intensifies, the federal government has reintroduced security patrols on all major highways.
The patrol teams will involve all departments of the police, alongside other armed paramilitary officers.
The Minister of Works, Senator David Umahi, disclosed this at the weekend during an inspection of the Abuja–Keffi Highway. He also criticised those fanning the embers of insecurity, urging them to desist and noting that the menace was inherited by President Bola Tinubu’s administration.
In addition to the security patrols, the government will provide vehicles, install Closed-Circuit Television (CCTV) systems, and deploy solar lighting on the highways.
“As directed by the president, we are reviving the Highway Security Patrol system under the police. I have met with the Inspector General of Police (IGP) on this initiative. We will provide vehicles, CCTV systems, and solar lighting. Officers will be stationed strategically, and response time will be reduced to under 10 minutes. This is part of our strategy to fight insecurity.
“The president is implementing several security measures. This insecurity did not start under his administration, and he is not complaining but working to resolve it. Those who escalated insecurity during elections will be accountable to God,” he said.
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Meanwhile, Umahi directed that contractors should mill 4 centimetres of asphalt and mix it with 10 centimetres of stone base, rather than 20 centimetres, in an effort to save costs. He observed that asphalt was being removed unnecessarily, noting that this was contrary to his directives.
“The directive is to mill 4 centimetres of asphalt and mix it with 10 centimetres of stone base, not 20 centimetres. We are saving costs. The mixture should be stabilised with cement and compacted to produce a pavement that can last up to 50 years. No asphalt should be removed indiscriminately.
“Asphalt still has bitumen content and value. Milling it and stabilising with stone base and cement produces a rock-like structure. I do not want to see removal of asphalt again. It is wasteful.
“We must hold ourselves accountable. Leadership is not only about the president. The minister, directors, and controllers — all represent the president. If anything goes wrong, responsibility must be shared appropriately. Some people think because we are political appointees, we will come and go and business continues as usual. That will not happen. We will restructure the Ministry of Works so that even if a non-engineer comes in, it will be difficult to reverse these reforms.
“We must conserve funds and use them for productive work. Acquire a yard so we can begin proper design of the observation centre. We may not need tolling here since tolling exists elsewhere, but we need a monitoring hub where even a pin-drop on the road will be detected.
“This pilot scheme must commence quickly and be completed within four months. We will also deploy ICT-based CCTV systems using telecom networks such as MTN or Airtel for real-time monitoring,” he maintained.
