Desmond Mgboh, Kano
Kano State Governor, Dr Abdullahi Ganduje, has declared that all appointees in his second tenure must pass a medical test for hard drugs.
Ganduje, who made the disclosure, yesterday, when he received the members of the Presidential Advisory Committee on the Elimination of Drug Abuse in his office, said only those who scale through the test would assume their offices.
He said a similar condition of medical assessment against hard drug users has been instituted by the Emir of Kano, Malam Muhammadu Sanusi, for the appointment of traditional rulers and district heads in the state.
Speaking further, the governor enumerated the various efforts of his administration in an effort to end the menace of drug abuse in the state.
Apart from enlightenment, education and rehabilitation of drug victims, he said they have decided to create a single market for drug sellers in the state, adding that the drug sellers have also agreed to move to the new market in August, this year.
Ganduje also said plans are set for the establishment of a single drug combating agency in the state, whose mandate would be targeted at drug abuse, while reiterating that most of the agencies presently fighting the drug war in Kano have other lines of responsibilities.
The governor maintained that checking the Almajiri crisis would help reduce the rate of drug abuse among youths in the state, adding that he has initiated a proposal to the Northern Governors Forum that seeks to ban inter-state movement of school aged children across the region.
In his remarks, General Buba Marwa (retd) appreciated the Ganduje administration for its various efforts aimed at curbing the menace of drug abuse and urged them to redouble their efforts.