Oyo State: NDLEA seeks partnership with Transport Management Agency

The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) says it is seeking a partnership with the Oyo State Road Transport Management Agency (OYRTMA) to tackle drug trafficking in the state, as drug dealers have now devised a new method of engaging road transporters to convey drugs from one point to another.

The Oyo State Commander of the NDLEA, Mr Saeed Abdullahi, disclosed this, on Wednesday, when he paid a courtesy call on the Chairman of OYRTMA, Dr Akin Fagbemi, at the OYRTMA Headquarters, State Secretariat, Agodi, Ibadan, the Oyo State capital.

The NDLEA boss, who decorated the chairman of OYRTMA as NDLEA’s ambassador in the state, disclosed that the purpose of the visit is to seek partnership, collaboration and assistance from OYRTMA in tackling the menace of drug abuse and drug peddling, noting that drug dealers had devised a new means of peddling drugs.

Abdullahi stated: “OYRTMA is a unique agency of the Oyo State Government whose operational activities are critical to the progress and realisation of the core mandates of the NDLEA. The efficacy of OYRTMA is being felt across the state and we are here specifically to further consolidate the relationship between our two agencies.”

The commander lauded the state government, under Governor Seyi Makinde, for empowering OYRTMA to achieve the lofty heights it has attained amidst other road transport agencies across the country.

He disclosed that since taking over the mantle of leadership in the Oyo State Command of the NDLEA, he had observed that the most rampant transportation means for drug traffickers and abusers of substances such as cocaine, heroin, etc. is the road.

Abdullahi noted: “We are aware of the effectiveness and efficiency of OYRTMA in managing the road transportation system in the state. This is why we have come to seek collaboration on intelligence gathering and information sharing between the two agencies, particularly as several arrests have been made of some road transport workers aiding and trafficking these dangerous drugs.”

He observed that most road traffic crashes in the country occur as a result of drivers who are under the direct influence of drug and substance abuse.

“Therefore, to tame this ugly trend, I want to, on behalf of the Director-General of the NDLEA, Major General Buba Marwa, decorate you, Mogaji Akin Fagbemi PhD, as Ambassador of NDLEA in Oyo State, to the glory of God and for the benefit of mankind,” the NDLEA boss concluded.

While responding, the Chairman of OYRTMA, Dr Akin Fagbemi, expressed appreciation to the NDLEA for the great honour and assurance of the continuous readiness of his agency to collaborate with NDLEA in the fight against drug trafficking and substance abuse in the state.

“This will help reduce accidents on the roads as well as create a tranquil and serene environment where economic and social activities can thrive, in tandem with the four cardinal objectives of Governor Makinde, as captured in the 2019-2023 Oyo State Roadmap to Accelerated Development.”

The OYRTMA chairman promised that the agency would intensify its effort and work with the NDLEA in ensuring that drug traffickers and other related offenders are apprehended.

He called for more collaboration with the NDLEA, noting that collaboration between the two agencies would bring about more positive developments in the state.

PIAK