Against the backdrop of the establishment of an Adhoc Ministerial Committee on the Security of Highways Construction projects, the Minister of Works, Engr. David Umahi has called on all Nigerians to show patriotism by joining hands with security agencies to protect highway construction project sites across the country.
Director of Information, Federal Ministry of Works, Olusola Abiola disclosed this in a statement issued on February 14, 2024.
According to the Minister, “we are concerned about the security of our sites during construction and we believe strongly that if we have experienced security personnel who understand the terrain, it would go a long way in ensuring the security of the sites´
Engr. David Umahi stated this on Wednesday, during an interaction with members of the ad-hoc Committee in Abuja, who are all retired military and security personnel drawn from the Armed Forces and the Nigeria Police Force.
Justifying their selection, the Honourable Minister observed that the retired personnel were chosen by their different Service Chiefs based on their track record and experience. He added that the work of the Committee was a national assignment advising them not to fail the nation.
Disclosing the reason for the setting up of the Committee, the Honourable Minister said “we came up with this idea of having one retired military officer and police from each of the geopolitical zones because of the security challenges being faced by contractors in the course of their work.”
Continuing, Umahi said further that “there are some projects that were awarded in the North East, North West, and South East for which the contractors handling those projects left the sites over the issue of insecurity,” stating that they are not on-site and this has become a concern to us in the Ministry.”
The Minister charged members of the Committee to demonstrate patriotism as individuals and groups by putting the interest of the nation first in the discharge of the onerous responsibility before them. He also stated that the Ministry was counting on them to bring security to various construction sites scattered all over the country.
Engr. Umahi, while explaining the nature of the task before the Committee emphasised that members were expected to work with the personnel of the Ministry at Zonal levels, pledging that all necessary assistance would be provided to ensure the success of their assignment.
He used the opportunity to thank the Service Chiefs who had cooperated with the Ministry by responding promptly to the request of the Ministry leading to the establishment of the Committee in the first place.
Earlier in his opening remarks, the Permanent Secretary, Yakubu Kofarmata expressed the appreciation of the Ministry to the committee members for offering themselves to serve their fatherland at this crucial time in the nation’s history. He urged them to give their best in the discharge of their task in the interest of national development.
