Drug trafficking inimical to health, economic wellbeing – Wada

By Oyibo Salisu
Lokoja

Kogi state Governor, Captain Idris Wada, has said that drug trafficking was inimical to the socio-political and economic well being and development of any society.

He stated this yesterday in Lokoja while declaring open a one-day sensitisation workshop on drug trafficking organised by the Federal Ministry of Foreign Affairs in collaboration with National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) and the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS).

Wada noted that the war against drug trafficking and its components should not be left for the NDLEA alone, describing it as “immoral and ungodly, especially in young persons, who through being victims, consequently lose their opportunities of contributing meaningfully to the growth of the society as this results in colossal loss of human capacity.”

He commended the ECOWAS, NDLEA and other related agencies for organising the workshop which, he noted, would go a long way in bringing about “a sharp reduction in the crime of trafficking of drugs.”

Earlier, the Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, Dr. Nurudeen Muhammad, in his address, said drug trafficking already had negative effects on the stability and security of the West Africa states, “with evidence of the use of the proceeds from drugs trade in sponsoring terrorism and extremist activities in the sub-region, including violent conflicts.”

According to him, no reason whatsoever is justified and permissible for anybody to engage in illicit drug trafficking and local cultivation of cannabis bearing in mind that the consequences are severe.