The Nasarawa State House of Assembly, has organized public hearing on a bill for a Law to Prohibit Substance Abuse and to Provide Treatment for Substance Abusers and Addicts 2021.
Chairman, House Committee on Health, Hon Usman Shafa, said that the public hearing was organized in order to get inputs from the stakeholders on the bill.
The lawmaker said that the bill if finally passed into law is aimed to Prohibit substance abuse and provide treatment for substance abusers.
Hon Shafa, who represent Toto/ Gadabuke constituency at the state legislature said that substance abuse has affected the lives of many youths and other Nigerians negatively, hence the need for all hands to be on deck to tackle it.
” This bill is a private member bill sponsored by Hon Abdulaziz Suleiman Danladi of Keffi East constituency and this bill has passed second reading at the floor of the House.
“Mr. Speaker, Rt. Hon Ibrahim Balarabe Abdullahi has directed that public hearing should be organised in order to get public inputs on the bill so that we will get the best out of it.
“We have invited you in order to get your opinion and inputs on the bill so that by the time we passed the bill, it will generally be accepted by the people”, He said.
Hon Shafa commended the stakeholders for their inputs and has assured them of the committee readiness to take their inputs into consideration before passing the bill into law.
Also speaking, Chief Medical Director ( CMD) Dalhatu Araf Specialist Hospital ( DASH) Lafia, Dr Hassan Ikrama, described the bill as excellent and timely.
He commended the sponsor of the bill for the initiative which he said will go a long way in addressing a lot of societal problems.
