Mrs Osinbajo urges women to join fight against illicit drugs

The Wife of the Vice President, Mrs Dolapo Osinbajo, has urged Nigerian Women to support the fight against illicit drugs to free the society from inactive youths.

The Vice President’s wife made the call on the sidelines of the visit of the Presidential Advisory Committee on the Elimination of Drugs Abuse to Women’s Helping Hands Initiative (TWHHI) in Lagos on Sunday.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that TWHHI is an initiative of the Wife of the Vice President. Osinbajo said women have realised the great need to support the government in the fight against illict drugs.

“ If the drug addicts have access to gun, they can walk into a place and kill innocent people.“As long as we allow this menace to continue, it makes the society to be unsafe for all.

“The only thing that can change the drugs’ lives some people are living now is the truth. So we must be an ambassador of sharing the truth.

“Families of most security officers who had lost their lives in the course of intercepting smuggled illicit drugs were not encouraged as much as possible.

The Chairman of the Presidential Advisory Committee on the Elimination of Drugs Abuse (PCEDA), Retired Brig.-Gen. Buba Marwa, called for provision of modern technologies to enable the security agencies to eliminate the illicit drugs in the society.

NAN reports that the committee visited facilities at seaports, airports, border stations, Non-Governmental Organisations, stakeholders and Lagos Federal Medical warehouse.

According to him, there is need for government agencies and other stakeholders to support the Federal Government in eradicating importation of illicit drugs into the country.

Marwa said that there was need to equip the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) and provide tools for the security agencies to enable them perform their functions effectively.

The committee chairman said that they also had an interface with the NGOs that were involved in drug abuse matter.He said that the committee has listened to their challenges, adding that all suggestion would be included in the recommendations to the Federal Government.

Marwa said that the committee also examined the distribution processes of the Narcotic Schedule ‘A’ drugs across the country by the Lagos Federal Medical Warehouse.“We have gone round the storage facilities of medical warehouse and we are satisfied with their records and operations.

“The drugs have to be cleared by the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) before coming to the Medical Warehouse and to the institutions,’’ Marwa said.

He noted that the consumptions of illicit drugs was affecting the society. Marwa said that the committee would also recommend severe penalties for the dealers of the illicit drugs in other to stop the menace in the society.