By Friday Idachaba, Lokoja.
NATIONAL Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), Kogi State Command, has solicited the collaboration of Kogi State House of Assembly in enlightening people of the state on the dangers of drug abuse and other drug related menace in the society.
NDLEA Commander in the State, Umar Mustapha Yahuza, made the appeal during a working visit to the House of Assembly in Lokoja.
Accordingly to a statement signed and made available to newsmen by Yabagi Mohammed, Chief Press Secretary (CPS) to the Speaker of the House, the NDLEA Commander said Kogi is very strategic to the Agency’s fight against drug abuse.
He said that this is in view of the geographical location of the state and the findings by the NDLEA following a painstaking research.
The Commander revealed that his agency through the research, discovered that there is a high prevalence of drug and substance abuse in Kogi state adding that there is urgent need to check the development as it has high tendency to endanger the society at large.
Commander Yahuza praised Governor Ahmed Usman Ododo for his commitment to the fight against the menace of drug abuse.
He held strongly that the governor deserved accolades for accepting to establish a rehabilitation center for victims of drugs in the State.
The NDLEA Commander urged other leaders to take a cue from the commitment shown by Governor Ododo, as he commended members of 8th Assembly in the state for their warm reception.
He equally commended their show of commitment towards assisting the NDLEA to check the prevalence of illicit drugs and substances in some parts of the State.
In his welcome address, Rt Hon. Aliyu Umar Yusuf, Speaker of the House, applauded the NDLEA for its gallantry and commitment towards sanitizing and ridding the society of illicit drugs.
He noted that the inherent dangers of drugs abuse could not be overemphasized, stressing that the problem keeps growing by the day in spite of the obvious mental and psychological challenges inherent in the consumption of the harmful drugs and substances.
Speaker Yusuf noted that as a lawmaking body, the Assembly was ready to collaborate with the agency and come up with laws that would assist the NDLEA to do its job more effectively.
He thanked the Commander for his commitment towards mitigating the prevalence and effects of drugs abuse in the state.
Highlights of the event include the presentation of a Drug Test Kit and decoration of the Speaker by the NDLEA boss as one of the major stakeholders in the agency’s fight against drugs. (Ends)