The Nigeria Governors’ Spouses Forum (NGSF) has urged the Federal and State Governments to declare a state of emergency on substance abuse and illicit drug trafficking in Nigeria.
The Forum made this call in a communique issued at the end of a two-day training on Drug Prevention, Treatment and Care (DPTC) organised by the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) for wives of state governors in Abuja, on Tuesday, February 13.
Signed by the Chairperson of the Forum, First Lady of Kwara State, Ambassador Olufolake Abdulrasaq, the communique contained several resolutions aimed at addressing the menace of drug abuse and trafficking in the country.
NGSF observed “the nexus between drug use and the heightened level of criminality, the increasing number of school drop-outs”
Parts of the communique read:
“The Forum resolved to foster good parenting through parents teachers associations, and community outreach programmes and to support the NDLEA Drug Integrity Testing Policy for early detection of drug users and timely intervention to prevent the progression to addiction/dependency.
“The Forum also agreed to work as a body and facilitator towards strengthening collaboration and cooperation between state governments, NDLEA, and other security agencies in the fight against drug use and trafficking.
“The Forum further agreed to support the building of at least three standard drug rehabilitation centres, one in each senatorial zone of the state, to cater to drug users within the states and reduce the challenges of costs, access, and stigma to drug treatment.
“The Forum also resolved to use their good offices to liaise with the state governors to facilitate the establishment, where no one exists, and strengthening, where it exists, of States Drug Control Committees (SDC) and appoint first ladies of states as chairs of the committees with NDLEA state commander as the secretary, for effective action against drug use prevalence, treatment and care.
“The Forum adopted the DPTC programmes in states as Forum project, and to be chaired by the first ladies of the states, to help curb the menace of drug use and fostering greater access to treatment for women who use drugs by reducing to the barest minimum stigmatisation and cultural push back.
“The Forum also adopted projects and policies that foster cooperation with private sector and civil society organisations in the development of standardised treatment centres across the states of the federation.
“The Forum also resolved to foster active collaboration with, and provide support to, NDLEA commands in states with a view to embedding DPTC in all their anti-drug intervention programmes.
“The Forum also realised the need to create skill acquisition centres and employment opportunities for young people to reduce being lured into drug use and trafficking.
