The Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), Brig.-Gen. Buba Marwa (retd.), yesterday solicited the support of Ogun State government to combat drug abuse and drug-related crimes in the country.
Marwa spoke during his official visit to Governor Dapo Abiodun at his Oke Mosan office in Abeokuta, the state capital, as part of his nationwide appraisal and advocacy visits to the agency’s state commands.
The NDLEA boss, who decried the high prevalence of drug abuse in the Southwest, said about 22.4 per cent of the residents abused drugs.
He added that in Ogun State, about 17 per cent of the residents abused drugs and other dangerous substances.
Marwa said the NDLEA would need a piece of land to build a barracks on for its personnel.
“With the high prevalence of drug abuse in the country, I want to solicit Your Excellency’s support in combating the menace in the state.
“As we all know, drug abuse destroys life, community, and it has no respect for age, gender and religion; hence, the need to engage critical stakeholders in the fight to stem the tide of this social malaise,” Marwa said.
Praising Abiodun for partnering the agency in combating drug abuse in the state, the NDLEA boss announced that the agency had finalised plans to build a barracks for its operatives to further secure them from drug barons and peddlers.
He urged the state government to provide a piece of land to build the barracks for the agency’s personnel.
“NDLEA is a hazardous place to work for our officials. They arrest drug peddlers and barons; they prosecute them, and they will go back to the same community to sleep among the people. This is very dangerous for our officials. We need land to build a barracks for them,” Marwa said.
The NDLEA chairman hailed Abiodun for his leadership style, stressing that this had contributed to his numerous achievements, especially in infrastructural development, health, education and security.
Responding, Abiodun hailed Marwa for stepping up the fight against drug abuse across the country, saying: “The NDLEA has been reborn and is witnessing a new lease of life under your watch.”
The governor expressed the readiness of his administration to partner and assist NDLEA in its quest to combat drug abuse in the country.
“We will step up our support to you. We will work more to reduce the percentage of drug consumption in the state,” he said.
The governor later presented an operational van and two motorcycles to the state command of the agency to boost its fight against drug abuse.
He also promised to donate a piece of land to build NDLEA’s staff quarters on.