Ndubuisi Orji, Abuja
The House of Representatives, yesterday, charged the Federal Government to declare a state of emergency on drug abuse.
It also urged the government to increase funding for the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) and other drug regulatory agencies as well as direct health institutions to develop treatment regimen to help people with substance abuse disorder recover and regain normal lives.
Similarly, the Green chamber urged the Federal Government to establish functional rehabilitation centres that will have the status of a specialist hospital with relevant professionals to cater for those affected by drug addiction.
The House mandated its committees on Narcotic Drugs, Healthcare Services and Legislative Compliance to ensure implementation and report back to the House in three months for further legislative.
This was sequel to the adoption of a motion by Francis Agbo and Olusola Fatoba at yesterday’s plenary.
Agbo, in his lead debate, said there was a correlation between the level of drug abuse and the crime rate in any society. He said that is why most of those arrested for various crimes had been drug addicts.
He added that drug abuse, which has being identified as a major challenge confronting teenagers and youths globally is now endemic among youths in the country , with the attendant health and security risks.
According to him, the country is fast transiting “from a corridor to a nest of barons, who possess enormous resources with which they live ostentatiously while glamourising both drug trafficking and its abuse.”
He lamented that unfortunately, the NDLEA is not well equipped in terms of material and human resources to tackle the scourge.
“ If we fail to destroy narcotic drug addiction, narcotic drug addiction will destroy us. The NDLEA remains a toothless Bull dog. The ratio of staff is three per local. The deployment of personnel is one to six local government areas. The earlier we do something about it, the better for us. Drug addiction is almost tearing this country apart. If we are able to tackle the menace of narcotic drug addiction, it will go a long way in tackling crimes,” Agbo stated.