Ogbonnaya Ikokwu, Umuahia
The wife of the Governor of Abia State, Mrs. Priscilla Otti,
has advocated for an urgent action against drug abuse among youths in Nigeria.
Mrs Otti made the call shortly after attending a two-day Drug Prevention Treatment and Care (DPTC) training organized by the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) for Governors’ Wives in Abuja, in a statement by her chief press secretary Mr Nwabueze Justice on Thursday.
The statement stated that first ladies were charged on the need to lead the State Drug Control Committees.
She stated that part of the resolves during the training was a call on the Federal Government to declare a state of emergency regarding the rampant issue of substance abuse and illicit drug trafficking in Nigeria.
Otti emphasized the urgent need for the government at all levels to allocate resources to combat the widespread problem of drug abuse considering the rate of its surge.
The Abia first lady informed that part of what they were charged to do was to chair the State Drug Control Committee to enhance their effectiveness in implementing rehabilitation programmes aimed at achieving holistic recovery and addressing both the physical and mental health aspects of drug addiction, along with harm reduction strategies. She however, promised to establish and chair the State Drug Control Committee at the state and local government level with relevant stakeholders.
She also outlined her plans for community outreach initiatives to support the NDLEA’s Drug Integrity Testing Policy, aimed at early detection of drug users and timely intervention to prevent addiction progression. Additionally, she pledged the full support of the Abia State Government, led by Governor Alex Otti, in fostering collaboration between NDLEA and other security agencies to combat drug use and trafficking.
“we will establish a dedicated channel through which we can scale up gender responsive drug demand reduction and treatment interventions among female drug users who despite high prevalence of drug use have very low rate of accessing treatment, she said”.
Mrs. Otti used the medium to commended the dedication of Senator Oluremi Tinubu, the First Lady and wife of the President, to the welfare of Nigerian women, and applauded the efforts of the NDLEA, under the leadership of Brigadier General Mohamed Buba Marwa (Retd), in addressing the scourge of drug abuse and trafficking through initiatives such as the workshop.
She was among the first ladies awarded and decorated as Ambassadors for the War Against Drug Abuse (WADA) by the Chairman of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), Brig. Gen. Muhammad Buba Marwa (Rtd.)