Mr Clement Agba, the Minister of State for Finance, Budget and National Planning, has called for urgent actions to tackle the rise in drug abuse and crime among youths.
Agba, who was represented by his Special Assistant on Inter-Governmental Relations, Mr Abdulrahman Rajab, made the call in Abuja on Tuesday.
The one day seminar, organised by Baba Rabi Community Development Initiative, an NGO, was titled “eradication of drug abuse and illicit drug among the youths in Nigeria”.
The minister said the trend was worrisome as it undermined sustainable development and stability of the country.
“Peace and security are increasingly being threatened. This is not peculiar to Nigeria but has assumed a global dimension and it needs our urgent attention.
“Ending this serious problem of drugs and crime is our shared responsibility. It requires practical, efficient and comprehensive approach at all levels,” Agba said.
He said that the ministry has been partnering with the European Union and United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) in implementing an intervention since 2013.
The intervention is known as “response to drugs and related organised crime in Nigeria”.
Agba said some achievements recorded through the collaboration include the launch of the national policy for controlled medicines and national guidelines for quantification and estimation of narcotics.
Other achievements include sychotropic substances, precursors for medical and minimum standards for drug treatment, among others.
The Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Youth and Sports Development, Mr Gabriel Aduda, said that the initiative was aimed at sensitizing and creating awareness among the youth and communities.
Aduda, who was represented by Mr Ngwaogu Micheal, Deputy Director in the ministry, said that drug abuse has serious implications to health and national development.
He added that the impact of drug abuse was causing threat to the social, health and economic fabrics of families, societies and the nation.
Mrs Nana Mede, the founder of the Initiative, said that the seminar was organised because of the passion she has for the Nigerian youth and their future.
Mede said as a retired civil servant the legacy she wanted was to sensitise youths on the implications of drug abuse in order to make them useful for themselves and the country.
“Even if it’s only one youth that I am able to impact in the course of this seminar today, I will be fulfilled,” she said.
