Governor Sule Urges North Central Counterparts to Address Drug Abuse

Nasarawa State Governor Abdullahi Sule has urged the North Central governors to work together towards addressing the challenges of drug abuse among citizens, especially females and youths in the country.

Governor Sule made the call while declaring open a 2-day Sensitization workshop on Narcotics Drugs Abuse and Prevention among Females and Youths in the North Central Zone of the country in Lafia, Nasarawa state capital.

The governor, who noted the negative impacts drug abuse has created on the well-being of individuals, families, and society, stressed the need for state governors to work together with the House of Representatives Committee on Narcotic Drugs and other relevant agencies to eliminate drug peddling, use and abuse among Nigerian Youths.

He described the prevalence of drug abuse and trafficking among the female gender as unfortunate, saying that all hands must be on deck to end the menace.

“Let me state that the unfortunate involvement of women in drug abuse and trafficking, who traditionally are the conscience and moral compact of the society, the crucial role they play in the upbringing and transmission of acceptable values and goals and aspirations of the younger generation is worrisome.

“The establishment of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency by the Federal Government has continued to carry out advocacies, sensitization and enlightenment campaigns on drug abuse and trafficking, its effects on youths who are considered as the most vulnerable group in the society is commendable.

“I therefore challenge Governors from this zone to partner in ensuring that we find a way to stop the abuse of Narcotic drugs among our youths and women,” he said.

Sule said that his administration was committed to changing the narratives of women by empowering and educating them and by enhancing their capacities through education and skills acquisition programs.

The governor further stated that the state provided the legal frameworks to protect women’s physical, social, economic, emotional, and psychological well-being through the enactment and implementation of the Violent Against Persons, Prohibition (VAP) law to curtail some conditions which expose them to drug use, trafficking and other social vices in the society.

He commended the House of Representatives Committee on Narcotic Drugs for organizing the workshop even as he urged participants to suggest effective ways towards addressing the challenges of drug abuse in the country.

Speaking, the chairman of the House of Representatives Committee on Narcotic Drugs, Abass Adigun, said the committee was poised to eradicate the menace of drug abuse across the country.

Adigun called on the governors and other stakeholders to collaborate and sensitize the citizens against drug abuse as it constitutes a nuisance to society.

He further appreciated Governor Sule and his wife, Hajiya Silifat Sule for the support given to the committee and for accepting to host the workshop, saying it was the first of its kind.

Speaking separately, the Emir of Azara, Dr Kabir Musa Ibrahim, and the chief Justice of Nasarawa State, Aisha Bashir Aliyu called on state governors to declare a state of emergency on drug abuse.

They also called on the government to include drug abuse in the school curriculum to enable the teaching and learning of the subject matter at a formative age, even as they called on parents to prioritize the education of their children for a better society.

Meanwhile, the state commissioner for Women Affairs and Social Development, Hajiya Aisha Rufia Ibrahim, and her counterpart from the Ministry of Health, Dr Gaza Gwamna, said the ministries have sustained advocacies and sensitization alongside relevant bodies, including women groups and non-governmental Organisations on the need for citizens to stay off drug abuse and other social vices.

The duo said they would continue to sustain the campaign against drug abuse for the well-being of the state.