In advance of the elections Umahi promises to combat drug use in Ebonyi

The governor of Ebonyi State, David Umahi, vowed on Thursday to combat the state’s rising illicit drug use, particularly as the general elections and campaigns for 2023 get near.

Speaking to reporters in Abakaliki through Special Assistant on Drug Control Mark Onu, Umahi said that the government has stepped up measures to ensure that illicit drug use is significantly decreased before elections.

He pointed out that the majority of political parties employ young people to run their campaigns because they want to appear inebriated to their employers.

“We have engaged with pertinent organizations, including the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), to ensure that we can work effectively together to reduce illicit drug use, particularly during this electioneering season.

He stated that although his agency had made sure that violators of the law who used illicit drugs were apprehended, the numbers would not be released.

“Our focus is not on making arrests, but rather on counseling about the harm that using illegal drugs can do to a person’s health and to society as a whole.

The special assistant remarked that his agency informs the public that illicit drugs have negative impacts on people’s health, and that when such effects are particularly negative, they can cause mental illnesses.

He claimed that in order to monitor the flow of illegal substances to the state, his office had met with the National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW) authorities.

“We have taken preemptive measures to stop the trend after learning that the majority of illicit substances are transported into the state from neighboring states.

“We found that a specific methamphetamine dealer (mkpurummiri), for example, lived in Amasiri in the state’s Afikpo North Local Government Area.

“We further learned that he actually runs his business out of Osso in the Afikpo North LGA and obtains the contraband drugs via motorcycles from the nearby Abia.

He said, “We counsel the kids to avoid drugs in order to fulfill their life aspirations.