NDLEA boss bows out, hands over to DG

The Chairman/Chief Executive of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), Ahmadu Giade has bowed out of service. He handed over the leadership of the agency to its Director-General, Mrs Roli Bode-George at a parade at the Ikoyi headquarters in Lagos yesterday, saying that his zero tolerance for corruption was one of the legacies he would be leaving behind. Giade who inspected a guard of honour at the event, also received a lowered NDLEA flag and presented a new flag to the Director-Genera which was immediately hoisted signifying the beginning of a new era. This is the first time in the NDLEA that a chairman would successfully serve for an uninterrupted ten years. Giade said: I am leaving the Agency better than I met it ten years ago. My greatest legacy is my zero tolerance for corruption. If we must continue to dislodge drug barons and eradicate drugs from our society, we must remain forthright and committed to drug control programmes. I am leaving behind a legacy of proactive and intelligence-led organisation. The agency under my watch has a representative at INTERPOL headquarters and has successfully raised the international profile of the country through unprecedented seizures of drugs and arrest of drug barons. He cited the removal of Nigeria from the drug majors list by the United States government and cordial working relationship with stakeholders as some of the significant achievements recorded in the past ten years.The removal of Nigeria from the drug majors list opened the door to a robust cooperation and partnership with stakeholders. NDLEA has witnessed unprecedented training programmes for officers, mostly sponsored by the United States government, Germany, Spain, France and the European Union,he said, while urging the new leadership of the agency to make officers’ welfare a priority. The acting Chairman, Mrs Bode-George said that the agency would continue to enforce the rules of engagement and uphold the tenets of integrity. A committee has been put in place to make recommendations on the way forward. NDLEA will continue to be proactive and operate as an intelligence-led agency. The agency will apply modern techniques and diligently implement the National Drug Control Master Plan in collaboration with stakeholders,” she said.