NDLEA, NAFDAC partner to tackle drug abuse

The Chairman of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency, Brig. Gen. Buba Marwa (retd), has said the renewed partnership between his agency and the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control will help curb substance abuse in the country.

According to him, while the NDLEA focuses on combating illicit drug production, trafficking, and abuse, NAFDAC is responsible for regulating and ensuring the safety of food, drugs, and other consumables.

He noted that the collaboration between the two agencies would help protect public health.

Marwa spoke in Abuja on Wednesday after the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding between the NDLEA and NAFDAC.

He said, “NAFDAC and NDLEA play vital roles in our citizens’ health and safety. While the NDLEA focuses on combating illicit drug production, trafficking, and abuse, NAFDAC is responsible for regulating and ensuring the safety of food, drugs, and other consumables.

“Therefore, deepening our collaboration will ensure robust protection for public health and the well-being of our citizens. Our collaboration spans several decades and we are here to strengthen it further today.”

He said the MoU will establish a framework that will enhance the sharing of vital intelligence, facilities, and expertise, which will amplify the ability to effectively address the intertwined challenges of drug abuse and counterfeit products.

Marwa said, “As we sign this MoU today, we are taking significant steps towards harnessing our collective strengths. It will align our strategies and resources, making us better equipped to tackle the growing menace of drug abuse and ensure that only safe, approved, and genuine products reach the hands of consumers.

“Today’s signing ceremony is not just a formal agreement but a commitment to our collective responsibility to intensify our service delivery. Together, we will work towards creating safer communities, reducing the prevalence of drug abuse.”

The Director General of NAFDAC, Prof. Mojisola Adeyeye, said stakeholders cannot afford to work in silos on the issues that border on substance abuse, illicit drug trafficking and public health in Nigeria.

She said, “We may not be taking illicit drugs, but we may have relatives taking illicit drugs. We may not have relatives taking illicit drugs, but we may have friends of relatives taking illicit drugs. When we look at it globally, it is our national security. It does not know what your neighbour may do to you because illicit drugs alter the state of your mind.

“Illicit drugs directly work on the central nervous system and make one feel what one is not supposed to feel. And that can include violence, terrorism, banditry, and those are the higher levels of societal ills that illicit drugs can result in.

“It can lead to spouse abuse, failure of children in school, health conditions, of course. As a pharmacist, whenever we deal with the pharmacology of a drug, we talk about the benefits, benefits, benefits, and then we end up with the side effects. And for almost all drugs, one of the side effects is death. Logically, NDLEA and NAFDAC should work very, very closely together.”