The House of Representatives Committee on Narcotic Drugs Chairman, Abass Agboworin, has expressed concerns over the high prevalence of drug abuse among young people and called for urgent action.
Speaking on Fresh FM in Ibadan yesterday, he asked the Presidency to take control of the National Drug Law Endorsement Agency (NDLEA) and declare a state of emergency to boost the fight against drug abuse.
According to him, the agency lacks logistics, staff and funding, thereby limiting its performance. The lawmaker said: “We told them in the National Assembly to declare a state of emergency on abuse of drug use.
“I am still reiterating this. All over the world, there are crimes, but for example in the US, they have a lot of rules and regulations guiding them: this is what you can do; this is what you should not do.
“If you do this, you will face the consequences. But here in Nigeria, we don’t have sufficient job creation to guide against the commission of crimes.
“Many of our youths are jobless and looking for a job to do. If they don’t get it, they will do something, and that is why crimes are increasing.
“We suggested that the NDLEA should be taken out of the ministry because they are complaining that they don’t have enough money to run the agency. “In Oyo here, for example, they have about one vehicle and maybe two or three motorcycles.
“If they want to convey suspects to court, they do tell me that they use that vehicle and that on such a day, they can’t get any vehicle to use on the road to check in and out of contraband items.”
