President of the Senate, Ahmad Lawan, has said the National Assembly is focused on strengthening regulatory mechanisms to ensure that our values as Nigerians do not suffer degeneration as a result of drug abuse.
Lawan made this known while declaring open a Public Hearing on the National Drugs Law Enforcement Agency Act 2004.
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According to a statement, the Senate President who was represented at the event by the Chairman, Committee on Health, Senator Yahaya Ibrahim Oloriegbe (APC, Kwara Central), said the issue of drug abuse in the country “has become a hazard” too difficult to ignore.
“Equally important is that drug abuse has become a hazard. While we may often identify abuse with the youths, emerging evidence reveals that it cuts across all social strata.
“What this means is that more and more people are resorting to dangerous mechanisms for escape. The consequence of this is multiple, as has been proved.
“We (National Assembly) have severally demonstrated that we cannot allow the degeneration of our values, through drugs, and other substances, considering our concerted quest for growth.”
He said the bill is an attempt at strengthening the regulatory mechanism on drug abuse, following loopholes in the extant law.
Chairman of the Senate Committee on Drugs and Narcotics, Hezekiah Dimka said: “One of the actual threats to the nation and human security is the alarming rate of illicit drug trafficking.”
He said drug abuse and trafficking continue to serve as catalysts to violence, insurgency (Boko haram, Banditry and many communal conflicts in the country.
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