The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has urged the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to caution political parties against use of illicit drugs during campaigns.
Head of NDLEA Drug Demand Reduction Unit, Adamawa Command, Mrs Mositi Mathias, gave the advice at a workshop organised by the National Orientation Agency (NOA) for its staff, yesterday in Yola.
The workshop was on “War Against Drug Abuse: regulations and guidelines for the conduct of 2023 general elections’’.
According to Mathias, this would prevent political thugs from disenfranchising the electorate through violent conduct. “There should be severe punishment for those engaged in political thuggery and violence to serve as deterrent to other would-be offenders,’’ she said.
Mathias also charged the NOA officials to sensitise members of the public against drug abuse at the grassroots as the electioneering campaign begins.
INEC Head of Information and Communication Technology in Adamawa, Mr Bala Aji, said that the commission was very serious about the conduct of the 2023 general elections.
He said there was no more issue of incident form as the commission had upgraded its system of operation to ensure free, fair, and credible elections.
According to him, a lot of people have tried to break into the system but failed.
He assured that INEC would collaborate with NOA officials at the local government level to mobilise the electorate to ensure peaceful elections.
Director, NOA in Adamawa, Malam Muhammad Gabdo, said the workshop was to build the capacity of the agency’s staff in local government areas in the area of public enlightenment.
He said NOA has a responsibility to effectively sensitise people at the grassroots on the electoral process ahead of the general elections in 2023.
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A Deputy Director, Mr Richard Dangari, who spoke on behalf of the participants, said they would take the right messages to the grassroots, to ensure the successful conduct of the general elections.
