The Chairman of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) Brig Gen Buba Marwa (rtd) has written a letter to the Chairman of the All Progressive Congress APC, Sen Abdullahi Adamu, requesting that officials of the NDLEA be given access to conduct drugs integrity tests for politicians seeking political offices in Nigeria.
According to Marwa, it’s the turn of APC to conduct primaries, hence the move, and when it becomes the turn of PDP and other parties, to conduct its party primaries, he would also inform them requesting to conduct drugs integrity tests on politicians aspiring for office.
Speaking on Wednesday, April 27 , while responding to questions from journalists at the 2022 First Quarter Best Performing Commands Awards ceremony at the Agency’s National Headquarters in Abuja, Marwa opined that the drugs test is necessary to ensure that politicians who vie for important national offices do not spend the money meant for the country on “cocaine or Methamphetamine instead of providing needed services for the masses.’
According to the NDLEA boss, running for public offices is a big responsibility that should not be left in the hands of those whose heads are filled up with drugs.
“For politicians, we have long advocated and I take the opportunity again to repeat the advocacy that when they run for public office it demands a lot of responsibility from the person and we need to be certain if he’s a person that is already a drug addict/user who will spend all the money he’s given for public service to consume cocaine and his head will not be in a stable condition to handle the affairs he has been entrusted with.
“For this reason, we have advocated and will continue to advocate that drug test be conducted for politicians; some state governments like Kano state is already doing this.
Not just politicians, but government appointees, and I’ve just sent a letter this morning to the National Chairman of APC, who will be the first of the national working committee I wish to pay an advocacy visit on this issue.
“I recommended that drug tests be incorporated in the screening process for all those interested in running for public office; we’ll do the same to the PDP and other important parties.”