The Nigerian Army Officers’ Wives Association (NAOWA) has pledged the commitment to work with the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) to ensure a drug-free Nigeria.
Wife of the chief of army staff and president of the association, Mrs Salamatu Yahaya, stated this when she led a delegation of the association’s executives on a courtesy visit to the chairman/chief executive officer of the NDLEA, Brig. Gen. Mohammed Buba Marwa (rtd) at the agency’s national headquarters in Abuja at the weekend.
Mrs Yahaya commended Gen. Marwa for the extraordinary achievements recorded in the NDLEA under his watch and asked for collaboration in the fight against illicit drugs.
She noted that NAOWA had been following the achievements recorded in the past 18 months and as a humanitarian organisation it was committed to capacity building and empowerment of its members and stakeholders, adding that partnering with the NDLEA would be mutually beneficial as she planned to take the drug campaign to the barracks.
Among the areas of partnership is the training of NAOWA members and staff in early detection and identification of substance abuse as well as how to conduct drug prevention programmes.
Others include measures to prevent drug trafficking and channels for reporting drug activities.
NDLEA spokesman, Femi Babafemi, said Marwa commended the association for the laudable initiatives under the leadership of Mrs Yahaya which had transformed the association.
Gen. Marwa, who was a NAOWA liaison officer during his military career, noted the important role the association plays in ensuring the success of career military officers.
He stated that NAOWA’s support would be required in both drug-demand and drug-supply reduction activities, stressing that addiction does not discriminate and could afflict any family.
He encouraged NAOWA to leverage on the NDLEA’s 24/7 toll free helpline (080010203040) recently launched to assist drug-dependent persons seeking help without stigmatisation.
