The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has commended members and leadership of the House of Representatives for rejecting yet another attempt to push through a bill to decriminalise cannabis cultivation, sale and use in Nigeria.
NDLEA Chairman, retired Brig. Gen. Buba Marwa, gave the commendation in a statement issued by the agency’s Director, Media and Advocacy, Femi Babafemi on Friday in Abuja.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that members of the House of Representatives had stepped down the bill on Thursday.
Responding to the development, the NDLEA boss said the decision of the lawmakers to reject the bill would further strengthen the gains so far made in the renewed war against drug abuse and trafficking in the country.
Marwa said the 2018 drug survey figure of 10.6million Nigerians abusing cannabis alone was enough to sound the alarm bell.
He said that the strong nexus between drug abuse and the security challenges across the country was incontrovertible.
According to him, insecurity, as manifested in banditry, insurgency ,kidnapping and others, is today a full-blown malady.
“Yet there has never been a government that is more committed to ending this spate of insecurity than the administration of President Muhammadu Buhari,“ he said.
According to him, the President has matched political willpower with resources, but the scope and frequency of these acts of destabilisation and the audacity displayed by the perpetrators call for a second, critical look at the malaise.
Marwa said history would never forget those who stand with parents to protect them and their children against the dangers of drug abuse.
){kind=link}