Anambra State government has reiterated its resolve to sustain the crackdown on drug cartels to reduce the supply and circulation of illicit drugs in the state.
Governor Willie Obiano disclosed this at the governor’s Lodge, Awka, Sunday when the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency, NDLEA, Colonel Abdullah Mustapha, went to the state on a courtesy visit.
The NDLEA boss, alongside some national officers as well as the state’s commander of the agency, Mr. Sule Momodu, were in the company of Mustapha during the visit.
Governor Obiano who noted that crime and drugs go hand in hand, explained his administration’s commitment to clampdown on drug barons in the state to ensure that youths and other vulnerable persons were precluded from having access to illicit drugs which he said could induce crime.
He therefore commended the NDLEA for the key role it has played towards the realisation of his administration’s security initiative, adding that through its partnership with the agency, a community in the state which hitherto was a den for drug peddling has been cleansed.
The governor further revealed that in collaboration with the agency, the state government through its Ministry of Youths Entrepreneurship and Sports Development, would embark on a sensitisation program to educate youths on the dangers of illicit drugs.
He however assured that his administration would continue to support the NDLEA to ensure it realises its mandate in the state.
Earlier, the NDLEA national boss who had described the war against illicit drugs as one that requires concerted efforts of all stakeholders, said the visit was to thank the governor for his benevolence towards the agency through which he has set a standard in government’s partnership with the agency.
He thanked the governor for approving a parcel of land for the construction of a rehabilitation center for drug addicts, adding that when completed, the center would give impetus to their efforts at ridding the state of illicit drugs.
Also, Anambra State Commissioner for Information and Communications Strategy, Ogbuefi Tony Nnachetta, who was part of the meeting, observed that Anambra is now the safest state in the country because Governor Obiano has exhibited genuine commitment towards the war against crime and criminality in the state, adding that security agencies in the state have fully keyed in.
In a vote of thanks, the agency’s Director of Training, Dr. Lawrence Okpala, commended Governor Obiano for taking full ownership of the security business in the state, pointing out that what the state has been able to achieve in the area of security is evident in the governor’s vision and tact.
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