Adams Oshiomhole, the former Governor and current senator representing Edo North Senatorial District, has opposed the establishment of a National Institute for Drug Awareness and Rehabilitation.
He believes that the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) already fulfills this role and that creating another agency would be unnecessary and costly.
Oshiomhole argued that the NDLEA’s sole mandate is not only to address and prosecute drug traffickers but also to deal with drug abuse, enlighten those involved, and provide training institutes. He suggested that instead of creating a new agency, the existing laws governing the NDLEA should be reviewed to identify any gaps that need to be addressed.
“We have the NDLEA, the sole mandate of NDLEA is not only to address and prosecute drug traffickers, it is to deal with the whole drug abuse, enlighten those involved in drug abuse, they have training institutes,” Oshiomhole stated.
He continued, “My suggestion is that we should look into the existing laws that have to do with NDLEA whose mandate is captured here substantially, to see whether we need to make amendments to that law.”
Oshiomhole also expressed concern about the financial implications of establishing a new agency.
“We need to see whether or not we need to strengthen the NDLEA or create a new agency. My worry is that we are spending so much money on overhead, we are going to have directors, officers etc all that goes into the current expenditure which adds little or no value to the quality of life of Nigerians.”
He concluded, “I agree we must deal decisively with drug-related issues but I’m not convinced we need to establish yet another agency that will be competing with the NDLEA”
