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National Drug Control Master Plan 2021-2025 Launched

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National Drug Control Master Plan 2021-2025 Launched

National Drug Control Master Plan 2021-2025 Launched

By: Michael Mike, Abuja

The Government of Nigeria has officially launched the National Drug Control Master Plan (NDCMP) 2021-2025. The event was attended by several cabinet ministers, members of the Inter-Ministerial Committee on Drug Control, NDLEA Chairman’s Special Purpose Committee on Drugs, the diplomatic corps, as well as diverse group of stakeholders. 

Developed with the support of the European Union funded, and UNODC implemented project “Response to Drugs and Related Organized Crime in Nigeria”, the NDCMP 2021-2025 is the final product of a coordinated effort comprising experts from relevant government ministries, departments and agencies as well as civil society organizations.  The Plan marks a significant evolution from the previous three NDCMPs, as it was able to draw on an extensive evidence base, including the first ever  National Drug Use Survey conducted by the National Bureau of Statistics with the support of UNODC in 2018. The survey revealed an average drug use prevalence of more than 14% which is alarmingly high when compared with the global prevalence of 5.5%.

The survey also found that almost 3 million persons in Nigeria were suffering from some form of drug use disorder. Other research studies on prevalence of drug use among internally displaced persons (IDPs), migrants, students, out of school children, and women, also helped in shaping critical interventions for the Plan. 

In his remarks, the Special Guest of Honour HAGF & Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami, SAN highlighted the critical importance of NDCMP 2021-2025 in providing a clear roadmap for implementing country strategies on all aspects of drug control. The Minister of Women Affairs expressed her concerns about one in four drug users being a woman or a girl and hoped that gender concerns would be adequately addressed during implementation of the Plan. The Minister of Youth and Sports Development proposed to engage National Youth Service Corp ( NYSC ) in drug prevention and sensitization work.

Speaking on the occasion, Mr. Alexandre Borges Gomes, Charge d Affaires, EU Delegation to Nigeria and ECOWAS, stated that “a balanced approach to issues of drug control” containing both soft and hard measures is the most viable way forward and commended Nigeria for developing such a Plan. 

Also Read: NO ACCIDENTAL DISCHARGE IN NSCDC ADMINISTRATIVE MANUAL…

Quoting different research studies conducted on drugs in Nigeria, including the Drug use Survey 2018, the UNODC Representative in Nigeria, Mr. Oliver Stolpe stressed on the strong evidence-base available for the development of this Plan, “an opportunity, that was not available at the time of development of previous three plans … hence NDCMP 2021-2025 would create superior impact” 

Representing Chairman NDLEA Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (Rtd), OFR, Secretary NDLEA, Mr. Shadrach Haruna expressed his agency’s resolve in implementing the NDCMP in close coordination with all the concerned ministries, agencies and departments. He further thanked the European Union for gracious funding and the UNODC for providing technical and advisory support through all stages. 

The development of the NDCMP 2021-2025, its endorsement by the President of Nigeria, and its launch today, are significant milestones in Nigeria’s progress towards addressing drug control issues in a more focused, systematic and evidence-based fashion. The plan marks a significant shift away from an approach predominantly aimed at supply reduction to a more balanced and health-centred approach to drug control. The recent initiatives on restructuring of the NDLEA directorates and the upgrading of the Narcotics and Drug Abuse Unit within the Federal Ministry of Health (FMOH) to a full-fledged Division are also important reflections of this shift in the priority setting of the country’s drug control effort.

The implementation of NDCMP 2021-2025 will contribute to achieving Sustainable Development Goal (SDG)-3 to “ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all at all ages” and target 3.5 to “strengthen prevention and treatment of substance abuse, including narcotic drug abuse and harmful use of alcohol, as well as SDG-16 to “promote just, peaceful and inclusive societies.”

National Drug Control Master Plan 2021-2025 Launched

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VP Shettima Mourns Late Alhaji Aminu Dantata, Says Nigeria Has Lost An Irreplaceable Institution

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VP Shettima Mourns Late Alhaji Aminu Dantata, Says Nigeria Has Lost An Irreplaceable Institution

By: Michael Mike

Vice President Kashim Shettima has expressed deep grief over the passing of prominent Nigerian businessman and philanthropist, Alhaji Aminu Alhassan Dantata, saying the nation has lost an irreplaceable institution.

The late Dantata, an uncle of Africa’s richest man, Alhaji Aliko Dangote, passed away at the age of 94 in Abu Dhabi in the early hours of Saturday in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), according to Mustapha Abdullahi Junaid, his Personal Private Secretary (PPS), who confirmed the death.

In a condolence message, Vice President Shettima praised the late businessman for his lifetime of service, describing him as “a living bridge that connected us to our past.

“We have not just lost a leader; we have lost an irreplaceable institution,” Senator Shettima said, describing Dantata as “one of the greatest titans in Nigeria’s philosophical history” whose departure marks the end of a vital chapter in the country’s economic and democratic evolution.

“In African tradition, when such an elderly person transitions, a vital chapter of our history departs with them. He was indeed among the great titans, a living bridge that connected us to our past,” VP Shettima added.

The Vice President extended heartfelt condolences to the Dantata family, expressing hopes that they would “find the fortitude to bear this irreparable loss,” even as he prayed that Almighty Allah would grant the deceased Jannatul Firdaus.

Born into the legendary Dantata family of Kano, Alhaji Aminu built on his father’s commercial legacy to become one of Nigeria’s most influential business figures. His empire spans construction, manufacturing, banking, agriculture, and the oil and gas sectors.

Beyond business, Dantata was renowned for his extensive philanthropic work, funding schools, mosques, health centres, and supporting widows and the underprivileged across Nigeria.

VP Shettima Mourns Late Alhaji Aminu Dantata, Says Nigeria Has Lost An Irreplaceable Institution

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Nigeria-EU Senior Officials Meet in Abuja to Prepare for Upcoming Nigeria – EU Ministerial Meeting

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Nigeria-EU Senior Officials Meet in Abuja to Prepare for Upcoming Nigeria – EU Ministerial Meeting

By: Michael Mike

The Senior Officials Meeting between Nigeria and the European Union (EU) will be held on Tuesday 1st and Wednesday 2nd July 2025 in Abuja to prepare for the upcoming Nigeria – EU Ministerial Meeting and to explore areas of cooperation.

A statement on Saturday by the Press Officer, EU Delegation to Nigeria and ECOWAS, Modestus Chukwulaka, read: “The Delegation of European Union to Nigeria and ECOWAS wishes to inform that the Senior Officials Meeting between the Federal Republic of Nigeria and the European Union (EU) will be held on Tuesday 1st and Wednesday 2nd July 2025 in Abuja.

“The agenda of the very important meeting is to prepare for the upcoming Nigeria – EU Ministerial Meeting and to explore areas of cooperation.”

According to the statement, the Senior Officials Meeting will be co-chaired by the Regions, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Nigeria, Ambassador Janet Olisa, Director, and the Deputy Managing Director for Africa Department, European External Action Service, European Union, Mr Mathieu Briens.

The statement revealed that the agenda of the meeting is expected to entail wide-ranging discussions that would focus on various aspects of the Nigeria – EU partnership, such as: Cooperation on multilateral and regional issues; Peace, Security and Governance; Humanitarian situation; Trade and Investment; Human Development: Health, Education, Social Protection; Science, technology, innovation and digital transition; Migration; Energy, climate change and green economy transition among others.

Nigeria and the European Union share a deep, long-standing partnership inspired by mutual values and interests as well as support for multilateralism and rule-based international order, the statement said.

Nigeria-EU Senior Officials Meet in Abuja to Prepare for Upcoming Nigeria – EU Ministerial Meeting

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Farida Waziri Tasks Benue Leaders to Unite, Act and Save Their People

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Farida Waziri Tasks Benue Leaders to Unite, Act and Save Their People


…. Donates relief materials to displaced persons in Yelwata, IDP camp

By: Michael Mike

Former Executive Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, (EFCC), Mrs. Farida Waziri has charged former governors, legislators, traditional rulers and other stakeholders in Benue state to set aside rivalry, unite and act with urgency to save their people from incessant attacks and killings.

Waziri, a retired Assistant Inspector General of Police and Principal Partner, Brookfield Chambers Abuja stated this on Saturday 28th June 2025 while donating relief materials to victims of the recent gunmen attacks in Yelwata community and displaced persons at the internally displaced persons (IDP) camp in Makurdi, the Benue state capital.

Some of the items donated under the banner of Women, Youth, Children and Crime Organisation (WYCCO), a non-governmental organization founded by her, include: bags of rice, sugar, tubers of yam and other household items.

She said: “This is no time for division. It is no time for political squabbling or ego-driven manoeuvring. Among us are men and women who have led this state — former governors, legislators, traditional rulers — individuals with influence and authority. The time has come to set aside our differences and stand united, for the sake of the ordinary Benue man, woman, and child.

“That is why I stand here today to make this urgent and heartfelt appeal to our leaders: cast aside rivalry, unite, and act. Act with urgency. Act with purpose. Because what we face now increasingly resembles a deliberate, coordinated effort to erase our people and our heritage.

“We must take heed of the words of Sir Winston Churchill, who once said:
‘Our difficulties and dangers will not be removed by closing our eyes to them.’
Another of Churchill’s warnings is just as relevant to our present predicament:
‘If you will not fight for right when you can easily win without bloodshed… you may come to the moment when you will have to fight with all odds against you and only a precarious chance of survival.”

Waziri, while stating that her call was a build up to the earlier proposal by President Bola Tinubu during his recent visit Beforehand Benue, noted that meetings alone would not solve the problem, urging that: “But let us be sincere: peace will not come from meetings alone. To end the cycle of violence, we must confront its roots. Before the Yelwata massacre, communities in Gwer West, Apa, and Guma had already endured weeks of killings, kidnappings, and raids. These horrors did not emerge in a vacuum; they are symptoms of deeper issues.

“We must therefore confront the real causes — ethnic and religious tensions, unchecked banditry, and the rise of cultism as well as the abuse of illicit drugs. These forces must be tackled, along with the herder-farmer conflict, with honesty and courage. We cannot afford to keep going in circles. And there is no room for blame games. Our leaders — and indeed, all of us — must be pragmatic. So today, let us commit, as one people, to healing our wounds, reclaiming our land, and ensuring that never again will a child in Benue grow up in a camp instead of a home”

She said the development in Benue must be of “concern to all sons and daughters of Benue regardless of whether we live within its borders or far away in the diaspora to find out the root cause of these attacks with a view to proferring solutions that will bring an end to these barbaric acts”

Farida Waziri Tasks Benue Leaders to Unite, Act and Save Their People

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