National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has gained the support of international partners and local stakeholders in the global effort to combat the scourge of illicit drug trafficking.
They (global and local stakeholders) have expressed their preparedness to support the Alternative Development Project (ADP) of the NDLEA, which is an initiative aimed at encouraging illicit drug producers and dealers to engage in lawful and productive business opportunities.
NDLEA spokesman, Femi Babafemi, said in a statement yesterday that they made the commitment in their remarks during the opening ceremony of a workshop on “Building a Support Network for the Alternative Development Project in Nigeria” organised by the Alternative Development unit of NDLEA at the agency’s national headquarters in Abuja.
Speaking at the ceremony, chairman/chief executive of NDLEA, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Marwa (rtd) explained the decision to embrace the ADP initiative, noting that it would focus on reducing the vulnerabilities of ignorance, poverty, hunger, unemployment and underdevelopment that push people into illicit economies, particularly illicit drug cultivation. Aside from its link to transnational organised crime, illicit drug cultivation fuels national organised crime that causes agricultural states to abandon food crop cultivation for cannabis plantations in some communities in Southwest Nigeria.
