The Honorable Chairman of the House Committee on Narcotic Drugs, Dr Francis Ottah Agbo, has called for an amendment of the Police Trust Fund Act to accommodate the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency, NDLEA, as one of its beneficiaries.
A statement issued Dr Ottah Agbo’s media adviser, Mr Andrew Agbese, revealed that Dr Agbo made the call on Wednesday while speaking at a workshop on ‘Drug Abuse and Rape: The Road Not Taken,” organised by the committee in collaboration with a non-governmental organisation, Christabel Initiatives.
Delivering his remarks held at the workshop held in the National Assembly complex, Dr Agbo regretted that the NDLEA is grossly under-funded, under-staffed and under-equipped despite performing similar functions with the police in terms of arrest, investigation and prosecution of drug and drug-related crimes.
Therefore, the chairman therefore proposed an amendment to the Police Trust Fund to ensure that the NDLEA effectively carries out its statutory functions as a policing agency.
He also noted that narcotic drug addiction is a catalyst for suicide, rape, banditry and terrorism, a problem which can destroy the most productive section of the populace and the future of the country if not quickly addressed.
Speaking further, Dr Ottah Agbo, who represents Ado/Ogbadigbo/Okpokwu Federal Constituency, assured that he is working round the clock to ensure that the problem of underfunding of the NDLEA is addressed.
On his part, the Chairman of NDLEA, Col Mohamed Abdullahi (Rtd) harped on the need for all Stakeholders to fight the menace of drug addiction, stressing that Nigeria deserves a better society than the one threatened by drug problems.
Present at the workshop were the Chairperson of Christabel Initiatives, Christabel Okoye, representative of UNODC, Dr Femi Ajayi, the representative of NAPTIP, Tolu Odugbesan, representative of the NOA DG, Ruth Ogwu, representative of the FRSC Marshal, Davidson OkuObeya and that of the FCT Police Commissioner, ACP Chongswan Mantu who all lent their voices to the call made by Dr Agbo.
Other dignitaries at the occasion include the Deputy Chairman of the House Committee on Narcotic Drugs, Hon Abdulkadir Umar Sarki, President, Association of Local Government of Nigeria (ALGON), Dr Alabi Kolade David, chairman of Abuja Municipal Area Council, Hon. Abdullahi Adamu Candido among many others.
