Governor Mukhtar Yero of Kaduna State has called on the management of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) to seek elaborate collaboration with stakeholders in the war against narcotics.
He gave the charge at the opening ceremony of 2014 Command Officers’ Summit in Kaduna with the theme “Transforming NDLEA to Meet with Contemporary Challenges in Drug Control in Nigeria”.
Yero who was represented by his Chief of Staff, Alhaji Yahaya Aminu, pledges more support to the NDLEA.
“Kaduna in partnership with the Agency has presented a bill to the State House of Assembly to prohibit the abuse of lawful substances like Zakami, a local plant that intoxicates and other items being abused in the State. The State is also creating employment for jobless youths as a way of preventing drug abuse and criminal activities,” Aminu stated.
He also commended the NDLEA for her dogged anti-drug campaign in the State.
A board member of the NDLEA, Dr Bala Takaya, urged officers of the Agency to partner with others because the task of drug control is huge.
“Let me awaken you to the need for advocacy. The task of drug control is huge but not insurmountable. I want you to continue to collaborate with legislators, members of the executive, judiciary, lecturers, traditional rulers and others in the anti-drug abuse campaign” Bala stated.
Chairman/Chief Executive of the NDLEA, Ahmadu Giade, tasked commanders to embrace change and cope with the ever changing drug trade.
“Drug barons are constantly devising new ways of smuggling their drugs to markets around the world. Most significantly, modes of drug concealment have assumed a more sophisticated pattern. We must continue to embrace change and maintain our superiority ahead of drug syndicates,” Giade stated.
The NDLEA boss added that the summit should provide the way forward for the Agency. In his words, “let us identify better, faster and innovative ways of getting a task done. Let us learn how to prevent and manage crisis. Let us identify barriers to effective training, anti-drug abuse counselling, information gathering, diligent prosecution and proffer solutions on the way forward”.
A statement by Head, Public Affairs of NDLEA, Ofoyeju Mitchell, on Monday said: “At the end of this summit, commanders are expected to go back to our respective commands better informed and strategically repositioned for the challenges ahead.”
The NDLEA Director General, Mrs Roli Bode-George, in her remarks called for more dedication and sacrifice in the fight against narcotic drugs.
Present at the event was the Kaduna State Police Commissioner, CP Umar Usman Shehu and heads of security organizations.
