OGUN TO CURB DRUG ABUSE MENACE, SAYS DEPUTY GOVERNOR

The press officer to the Deputy Governor, Oluwaseun Boye in a statement said, she (Deputy Governor) expressed displeasure at the statistics which indicated that the State had the highest drug addicts among South Western States in the country, saying nobody can really pinpoint at the exact cause of drug abuse.

Penpushing further reports that, the Deputy Governor stated that the government was committed to ensure that youths in the State were positively engaged, noting that reduction in youth unemployment would go a long way in curbing the scourge in the States, as well as improves employability among the youths.

The Deputy Governor added that the introduction of empowerment programmes by the present administration would be very helpful to the youths, especially those that were being rehabilitated from drug abuse.

Penpushing also reports that, earlier in his presentation, Pharmacist Olufemi Fafiolu, said the estimated figure of drug addicts in the South West region of the country was nearly twice the nation’s prevalence with 2.7million.

The Pharmacist noted that this constitutes 24 percent, stating that the prevalence in Ogun State is 17%, as the survey for the prevalence in Abeokuta South and North were carried out by the committee, adding that the abuse of drug pose serious security threat to the nation’s socio-economic development as it was one of the reasons for kidnapping, rape, armed robbery, prostitution, gangsterism, hooliganism, cultism and insurgency.