The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) is partnering MTN Foundation and United Nations Office on Drugs in the fight against substance abuse in Nigeria.
The three organisations, on Monday hosted a national conference on anti-substance abuse at the Banquet Hall of the State House, Abuja, as part of their commitment to ensuring a drug-free society.
The conference was held to officially commemorate World Drug Day, as well as hold critical discussions on the roles of government, individuals and organizations in the fight against substance abuse.
Speaking on the importance of partnership in fighting the drug scourge in Nigeria, Chairman NDLEA, Buba Marwa lauded the MTN Foundation and other partners for their efforts aimed at tackling drug scourge in the country.
He said: “At NDLEA, we have a sense of urgency in tackling the health consequences of the abuse of illicit drugs, and society is warming up to the idea that together we can end the drug scourge and we hope that the momentum will be maintained.
“We appreciate our major stakeholders for their support, thank you very much MTN for always being with us in the struggle to tackle the drug scourge in Nigeria.”
The Chairman, MTN Foundation, Mr Julius Adelusi-Adeluyi, reiterated the importance of advocacy in the fight against substance abuse in Nigeria.
According to him, the MTN Anti-Substance Abuse Project (ASAP) is a multi-sectoral initiative spearheaded by the Foundation to deliver interventions that would help reduce the rate of first-time drug abuse among the youth.
He pledged that the foundation would continue to partner with the NDLEA in the fight against the scourge in the country.
“Last Saturday, we had an 8-km advocacy walk, and it was so successful that excerpts of it went viral on social media, and we are happy that because of that, the target we had for the young people was reached, and we know that this will continue in the next year.
“As an organisation, we will continue to support the NDLEA, especially in the area of advocacy.
“We must continue the talk until such a time when we can say to ourselves, we are making progress,” he said.
According to him, this year, with the 2022 ASAP campaign theme: ‘It’s everyone’s fight,’ the MTN Foundation partnered with the NDLEA, the Ministry of Education, Businessday, NET.ng and the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crimes (UNODC).
He said this would expand the awareness initiatives on the anti-substance abuse programme.
“Activities to commemorate the event included capacity-building training for teachers across three major states, a quiz competition for secondary school students, a Twitter space conversation, an advocacy walk and the national conference,’’ he added.
Winners of the MTN ASAP 2022 Quiz Competition from Funtaj International School, Gudu Abuja, and Intelligence Quotient Academy, Garki, Abuja, who came first and second were honoured.
The event, which featured exhibition of various illicit substances and dangerous drugs, was attended by top government officials, traditional rulers and students from across secondary schools in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).
