FIRST LADY, OLUREMI TINUBU CHARGES STATE GOVERNMENTS TO PRIORITIES THE FIGHT AGAINST SUBSTANCE ABUSE 13-02-24
By Sadiq Aminu The First Lady, Mrs Oluremi Tinubu, has charged state governments to prioritise the fight against substance abuse in their strategic work plans for a safe and secure society.
Mrs Oluremi Tinubu gave the charge at the opening ceremony of a two-day training on Drug Prevention Treatment and Care, organized by NDLEA for spouses of state governors in Abuja.
The First Lady represented by wife of the Inspector General of Police, Mrs. Elizabeth Egbetokun who commended the Chairman of the NDLEA and the Nigerian Governors’ Spouses Forum for the initiative, urged the state governments to collectively fight the menace of drug abuse.
The Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Prince Lateef Fagbemi, said the Nigerian Governors’ Spouses Forum was a good platform to cascade the drug war into the grassroots.
The NDLEA Chairman , Retired Brigadier General Buba Marwa said the negative effects of substance abuse on public health, the environment, the spate of insecurity faced across the country had made it mandatory for all hands to be on deck.
General Marwa urged the governors’ wives to utilize their positions to mobilise support for drug prevention and treatment in their states.
The Minister of Education Prof Tahir Mamman, represented by the Permanent Secretary in the Ministry Mrs. Didi Walson-Jack reiterated the collaboration between the ministry and NDLEA to combat substance abuse among students.
The Chairman, Governor’s Spouses Forum and wife of the Governor of Kwara state , Mrs Olufokake Abdulrazaq gave an assurance of the collaboration with relevant stakeholders to spearhead the fight against harmful substances especially on the youths
The Country Representative of the United Nations Office on Drug and Crime, Dr. Oliver Stolpe; Representative of European Union, Letizia Torretta and the Director General, National Agency for the Control of AIDS, NACA, Dr. Gambo Aliyu spoke in same light, calling for collective and collaborative efforts to curb the menace of drug abuse.