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The Chairman/Chief Executive Officer of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency, Brig-Gen Buba Marwa (retd), has advised parents to insist on drug tests for their children’s partners before marriage.

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According to him, such measures will ensure that their children do not get married to drug addicts.

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He also recommended drug tests for politicians, workers and students to be able to urgently provide help for those who need treatment and rehabilitation in addition to acting as a deterrent.

Marwa stated this during the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding with a firm, Primly Services Limited, for the supply of free drug test kits to NDLEA in Abuja on Thursday.

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A statement by the spokesperson for the NDLEA, Femi Babafemi, on Friday, said Marwa expressed happiness that the MoU was finally signed almost three years after the Federal Government had approved the deal.

Marwa said, “At the centre of drug demand reduction is drug testing. Practically, all Nigerians should be subjected to drug tests – politicians, students, workers and all. We have set the ball rolling at the agency because charity begins at home. This will enable us to know those afflicted, who need treatment and rehabilitation.

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“Equally, it will deter drug abuse because if you know that the result of a drug test will hamper your progression in school, political career or at work, it will deter you. In the same vein, we do expect parents to make sure their children don’t get married to addicts by insisting on drug tests before marriage.”

He expressed delight in the readiness by the Managing Director of Primly Services Ltd, Dr Vincent Udenze, to always contribute to efforts to rid Nigeria of illicit substances.

“In the course of PACEDA’s (Presidential Advisory Committee on the Elimination of Drug Use) work, Primly Services was part of our resource persons, and through that, we got to know about this MoU, which had been approved by the Federal Government since 2019 and I’m surprised that, up till 2021, it has not been executed until now.”

While commending the firm’s professionalism and willingness to partner with NDLEA in fighting the drug scourge afflicting the country, Marwa said the high-quality test kits came at no cost to the agency, adding that the company would only recover its cost from testing.

“We should continue to look for more ways of cooperation to make Nigeria a drug-free nation, which is a task that must be done,” he said.

Earlier, Udenze said, “We will ensure that the kits are one of the best in the country and we will not fail in our duty in this regard.”

Source: www.punchng.com