Brig. Gen. Mohamed Marwa (Rtd), Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), has challenged traditional rulers, religious and community leaders to champion the fight against substance abuse and illicit drug trafficking in their communities and spheres of influence.
According to a statement issued by the NDLEA’s Director of Media and Advocacy, Femi Babafemi, on Tuesday, the NDLEA boss gave the charge on two separate occasions in Igumale, Ado local government area, and Otukpo in Benue state on Sunday and Monday, January.
Marwa was in Igumale to mark the opening of the Agency’s Area Command office in the community.
Speaking at the palace of the community’s monarch, Chief Joseph Oche Ikor, Marwa urged the traditional ruler to see the establishment of an NDLEA office in his domain as a call to mobilize his people against substance abuse and to support ongoing efforts to eliminate access to illicit drugs that are wreaking havoc in families and communities.
Marwa stated at the foundation laying ceremony and the commissioning of a 20-kilometer road facilitated by the member representing Ado-Ogbadigbo-Okpokwu Federal Constituency in the House of Representatives, who also happens to be the Chairman of the House Committee on Narcotic Drugs, Hon. Francis Ottah Agbo, that “both developments are signs of the importance of this community and local government to Nigeria’s welfare and also a testament that communities in this cornfield
While commending Hon. Agbo for his passion and commitment to making Nigeria a drug-free country, he told the community that the lawmaker is on the verge of making history by sponsoring a bill requiring political office seekers to take the Dug Integrity Test, from councillorship to the highest office in the country.
“At the same time, he has also been one of the key drivers of the amendment of the NDLEA Act which we are hopeful will be passed by the National Assembly before the end of the tenure of the Ninth Assembly. Even as he worked on the national stage, he embodied the adage that “charity begins at home.”
“I will also want to use this opportunity to appeal to the good people of this constituency to do their utmost to ensure we keep our communities clean of illicit drugs,” Marwa said, admonishing the community. The mandate of the NDLEA is to keep Nigeria safe from dangerous substances; however, this mandate cannot be fulfilled without the participation of Nigerians.
“We have created a vehicle to facilitate citizen participation, which is the War Against Drug Abuse (WADA) campaign. It is a social advocacy campaign that we will take to every community in the country. We began in 2021 and have succeeded in bringing WADA to the doorsteps of our people at the grassroots level in the last two years.
“As we ramp up the campaign this year, I encourage each and every one of you to be a part of this social action platform where all well-meaning Nigerians become stakeholders in the concerted effort to safeguard our society’s safety and sanity against the drug scourge.”
Marwa stated during a WADA advocacy visit to the Ochi’Idoma of Idoma land, Agabaidu Elaigwu Odogbo Obagaji Johnson, that traditional rulers, as leaders of their people, must embrace the campaign against the drug scourge for the sake of youths, families, and the security of their communities and the country as a whole.
In their responses, the monarchs and other community leaders who spoke at the various ceremonies pledged to help the Marwa-led Agency succeed in its mission while also promising to collaborate with NDLEA to rid their domains of illicit drugs.
