Kano state government has approved over N60 million as operational funds and allowances, for the state Task force on Fake, Counterfeit, Adulterated, Illicit drugs and Unwholesome processed foods, for three months.
The state governor, Dr. Abdullahi Umar Ganduje disclosed this during a meeting with the committee members, explaining that N5 million would be released immediately while the balance would be paid in before long.
He assured that the government will not relenting in giving the desired support to the state Task force on Fake and Adulterated Drugs and the Consumer Protection Council to enable them function efficiently.
“We are impressed with the work you are doing and we intend to reinvigorate the committee to make it work in earnest. Drug peddling and consumption is a big challenge and we must remain determined to confront it”, he stated.
Noting that the issue of drugs is an international dilemma, especially for emerging mega cities like Kano, the governor assured that his administration would face the issue squarely to secure the future of its teeming youths.
“I have, therefore, directed the state Commissioner of Police to mount check points at suspected drug flashpoints to ensure that culprits who engage in the illicit drug business are apprehended”, Dr. Ganduje stressed.
Dr. Ganduje revealed plans by the state government to renovate the Kiru Reformatory and to construct therein, a female hostel, in view of the rising cases of drug abuse among females in the state.
He further announced that to save cost, the government would no longer engage consultants to manage the reformatory, pointing out that the state Ministries of Health and Women Affairs as well as the Hisbah Guards, have been directed to come up with a proposal on how to directly and efficiently administer the place.
The state Commissioner for Health, Dr. Kabiru I. Getso eaier on explained that the meeting was convened to fine-tune strategies for combating drug/substance sale and abuse, among others, disclosing that the government has produced and would distribute 30, 000 copies of a booklet on the evils of drug abuse.
In his remarks, the chairman of the Task force on Fake, Counterfeit, Adulterated, Illicit drugs and Unwholesome processed foods, Pharmacist Abdu Umar Madaki told the governor that in the last since its inception, the task force has seized banned drugs worth over N4 billion, adding that at the moment, it has such drugs worth nearly N100 million, awaiting destruction by the appropriate authorities.
