The Federal Government has warned that drug abuse and illicit trafficking pose a direct threat to Nigeria’s national development, describing the fight against the menace as a shared responsibility that cannot be left to any single agency or sector.

The Secretary to the Government of the Federation, George Akume, represented by the Permanent Secretary, General Services Office, Ibrahim Kana, gave the warning at the National Drug Use Summit, jointly convened by the Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare, the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency, and the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime in Abuja on Wednesday.

Speaking on the summit’s theme, “Addressing Illicit Drug Use and Trafficking: A Call to National Action,” Akume said the fight against drugs required a collective national response.

He noted that drug use and trafficking had grown into major global threats to public health, national security, social cohesion and economic development, and that Nigeria was not immune to these pressures.

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