International partners, including the European Union (EU), the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), and the Economic Community of West Africa (ECOWAS), yesterday assured Nigeria of continued support in its efforts to combat substance abuse and illicit drug trafficking over the next five years.

They gave the assurances at the opening session of a two-day National Drug Control Master Plan (NDCMP) Consultative Forum organized by the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) in Abuja.

The Deputy Head of the EU delegation to Nigeria and ECOWAS, Zissimos Vergos, said that the EU was prepared to assist Nigeria in its ongoing drug control efforts He said: “Our presence here today is that of partners who have walked this uphill and rough road ourselves, and we continue doing that.

“We have learned valuable lessons from them, and we believe deeply that Nigeria’s stability and Europe’s security are inseparable. “What affects the youth of Maiduguri or the streets of Ibadan does not stay within Nigerian borders.

“Drug trafficking is a transnational challenge, and the master plan laid before this forum is Nigeria’s contribution to a transnational response.”