To protect the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway from vandalism, unlawful occupation, and other unauthorised activities, the Federal Government established the Coastal Highway Guards.
According to a statement released on Sunday by Jubril Gawat, the Lagos State Governor’s Senior Special Assistant on New Media, the project was initiated by Minister of Works David Umahi with an initial deployment of forty staff.
According to Gawat, the guards would keep a noticeable presence along the roadway and keep an eye out for any actions that would jeopardise the ongoing project.
He enumerated their duties, which included reporting suspicious activity, stopping hawking, keeping an eye out for and reporting vandalism, and limiting the usage of tricycles and motorcycles as well as loitering along the route.
Today, the COASTAL HIGHWAY GUARDS were established by the Honourable Minister of Works, Senator @realdaveumahi, with 40 officers. These employes will be responsible for:
Keeping an eye on the road; reporting suspicious activity; prohibiting hawking on the Coastal Highway;
Gawat stated, “Reporting and monitoring any form of vandalism; restricting keke or okada on the Coastal Highway; and restricting loitering on the Coastal Highway.”
He claims that retired General Adekunle Shodunke will oversee the project, and the guards are anticipated to work with Lagos State security agencies.
According to Umahi, who was cited by Gawat, the effort was intended as a full-time job arrangement with a focus on public infrastructure protection rather than as an empowerment program.
According to the Hon. Minister, this is not a “empowerment program,” He was reported by Gawat as saying, “It is a full-time job to protect the government’s national assets and in line with Mr. President, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu GCFR’s Renewed Hope.”
The unveiling came after Umahi voiced worries about certain people’s actions along sections of the coastal roadway.
Earlier on Sunday, the minister voiced concern over reports of the removal of building supplies and the occupation or usage of portions of the highway for purposes unrelated to the project.
“Very awful, unpatriotic people have been treading on the highway, breaking the fence, removing the rods, and removing the blocks.” “This has to end,” Umahi declared.
After that, he gave the Works Controller in Lagos instructions to make sure that hawkers, motorbikes, tricycles, and other unlawful activity were removed from the route.
They are responsible for prohibiting lounging, motorcycling, and keke on the coastal roadway. He stated, “There isn’t a superhighway in the nation where you see people hanging around.”
Umahi further revealed that at around 11 p.m., members of the National Assembly went to the highway with him and allegedly discovered individuals dozing off along the way.
“People were sleeping on the coastline highway when we arrived with the National Assembly members last nite around 11 p.m. It has to end. “No illegal occupation or hawking along the entire coast,” he declared.
Additionally, the minister called on the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps, or NSCDC, to step up its efforts to safeguard vital national infrastructure.