Kwara State Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq on Wednesday said the administration would not relent in its partnerships with the state command of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) in checking the menace of drug abuse.
He commended the NDLEA Chairman, Brigadier-General Mohamed Buba Marwa (rtd.) and his team for their efforts to rid the country and the state of cases of drug addiction.
At an event to destroy 24.6 tons of illicit narcotics, drugs and psychotropic substances, which were seized by the NDLEA, Kwara State Command, the Governor said: “We all know the menace of drug abuse and addiction, and how it destroys families, communities and the state to the extent that non-state actors are now using drugs as a form of investments and means to continue to perpetrate violence in the society.
“As far as the government is concerned, the issue of drugs in our society is huge and must be combated. That is why I had to re-arrange my plans to be part of this occasion to show that the government has a buy-in in it”.
AbdulRazaq expressed delight that the state, which was rated high among states abusing drugs in 2018, is now gaining strength in the control, promising to continue to support the state command on advocacy campaigns.
“We know the job of the NDLEA Chairman across the nation is huge. We need to continue the advocacies. We will partner with NDLEA to sponsor programmes on radio and television stations to pass the message to our communities and so on”, the Governor added.
Dignitaries at the event included the state’s First Lady; Ambassdor (Mrs) Olufolake AbdulRazaq, represented by the State Commissioner for Health Dr Raji Razaq; representative of the NDLEA Chairman who is the Zonal Commander (Zone C) Dr Malami Sokoto; state NDLEA Commander, Alhaji Ibrahim Saidu; Special Adviser to the Governor on Special Duties, Alhaji Abdul-Razhaq Jiddah; and Chairman of the state Drug Control Committee, Permacist Barakat Olanrewaju.
Razaq said that the state Drug Control Committee has been doing greatly more than ever before, and attributed the improvement to the state government’s investment in the health sector. He also said the First Lady has been championing the fight against drug menace in the state.
“The First Lady of Kwara State is the champion for the drug control committee in the state. The Committee has been responsive in carrying out functions it never carried out in the state for the last 10 years. That tells us that the investment of His Excellency, Mallam AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq in health sector especially on drug control is yielding results”, he said.
Razaq urged relevant agencies to conduct a fresh survey on the state’s control of drugs, saying the 2018 poor rating was no longer valid.
In his remarks, Saidu said that 171 convictions had been secured on the seized drugs, describing it as a major achievement of the agency.
He acknowledged the important roles of the state government and other stakeholders in achieving such feats, and appealed to them to sustain their support for maximum success in the fight against drug abuse.
Highlight of the occasion was the burning of the 24,616,111 kg worth of illicit drugs and substances confiscated by the agency.
