SGF lauds CSOs over collaboration to tackle drug abuse

Mr Boss Mustapha, Secretary to Government of the Federation (SGF), has commended Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) over their collaboration to tackle the problems of drug abuse among youths.

Mr Willie Bassey, the Director of Information, SGF’s office in a statement on Wednesday in Abuja said the SGF gave the commendation at a workshop on “Substance and Drug Abuse’’.

Mustapha, represented by Mr Olusegun Adekunle, Permanent Secretary SGF’s office, said the Federal Government had put up several measures to tackle the menace of drug abuse.

The SGF said that the problem of drug and substance abuse in the country had posed serious challenges to primary healthcare facilities in the country.

He said that the scourge had assumed global dimension such that every responsible government was taking steps to root the menace out of their territories.

Mustapha said that the worrisome aspect of the menace was that youths, the future of the nation, were the most hit by the scourge.

According to him, some Nigerian youths are now being incarcerated while some are on death row in several countries across the world either as traffickers or as users of these illicit substances.

“In recognition of the negative effects of drug and substance abuse, President Muhammadu Buhari, constituted a two-tier Presidential Intervention Structure on the Elimination of Drug Abuse,” Mustahpa said.

He pledged the commitment of the Federal Government to strengthen the nation’s drug law enforcement capacities and capabilities.

According to him, government will also continue to give attention to preventive measures, while taking cognizance of the healthcare needs of those addicted to drug abuse.