SUBSTANCE ABUSE: LAGOS MINISTRY PARTNERS NDLEA
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In a bid to ensure that Lagos State is rid of substance abuse, Lagos Ministry of Youth and Social Development has collaborated with the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA).
The alliance, aimed at forming a formidable front to tackle the menace of drug abuse, took place when officers of the Agency paid a courtesy visit to the Ministry at the Secretariat, Alausa, recently.
Welcoming the NDLEA team to the Ministry, The Honourable Commissioner for Youth and Social Development, Mr. Mobolaji Ogunlende stated that the visitation was not only timely but would give the fight against drugs needed impetus.
He said, “The spate of substance abuse has assumed a pandemic proportion in Lagos State. About 70 per cent of our youthful population is hooked to one form of substance abuse or the other. This is so much that our daily efforts seem to be of no effect. But with the coming of NDLEA on board, we are assured of more gains in this area”.
While promising NDLEA the necessary logistics support required to destroy the drugs confiscated by the Agency, Ogunlende assured the officers of an open-door policy as well as scaling up advocacy and sensitisation in combating drug abuse.
Earlier, the Permanent Secretary, Pharm (Mrs.) Toyin Oke-Osanyintolu said that drug abuse has become a scourge that the Ministry has been making frantic efforts to tackle.
In her words, “The coming of NDLEA to collaborate with the Ministry in its fight against drug abuse is a welcome development. Presently, our Rehabilitation Centres are overstretched. They have exceeded their capacities since we received almost daily a drug-dependent fellow who needs rehabilitation. The Ministry cannot combat this menace alone”.
The new State Commander of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency, Commander Abubakar Liman Wali said the visit was prompted by the fact that the Ministry was saddled with the responsibility of tackling the menace of drug abuse.
The NDLEA Commander assured the Ministry of support in terms of education on drug abuse as well as confiscation of drugs, adding that the Agency believed in effective collaboration with all stakeholders.
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