The NDLEA and MTN Foundation have partnered to expand the Anti-Substance Abuse Programme in Enugu, revealing that over 360,000 youths in the state face drug challenges.
In a coordinated response to the growing public health and security threats posed by narcotics, the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) and the MTN Foundation have unveiled an expanded phase of the Anti-Substance Abuse Programme (ASAP) in Enugu State.
The intervention seeks to protect local youth capital and build resilient community defenses against illicit drug networks.
The high-level rollout was held on Tuesday at the International Conference Centre (ICC) in Enugu under the theme: “The World Drug Problem: Persisting Issues, New Challenges, Innovative Responses.”
Speaking at the launch, the Executive Director of the MTN Foundation, Mrs. Odunayo Sanya, explained that the corporation’s aggressive intervention was driven by deep concerns over the rising vulnerability of young Nigerians to synthetic narcotics. She noted that drug dependency wreaks havoc on the family unit and severely drains the nation’s future workforce.
Sanya disclosed that since its launch in 2019, the ASAP initiative has successfully reached over 50,000 secondary school students across the country, trained more than 1,500 frontline educators, and built a massive peer-to-peer advocacy framework.
The program focuses heavily on early prevention, training student ambassadors to identify signs of abuse and counter criminal peer pressure within their schools.
“We envision a Nigeria where no individual or community is left behind,” Sanya stated, noting that the MTN Foundation has invested roughly N33 billion into nationwide social interventions, including ongoing ICT training and healthcare upgrades within Enugu State.
The necessity of the intervention was further highlighted by alarming data presented by the NDLEA Command. In his address, Mr. Owunwa Ibezimako, the Deputy Commander of Narcotics and Deputy Commander of the Drug Demand Reduction Directorate (DDRD), warned that the drug crisis is now a primary driver of organized crime and violent instability across the federation.
Ibezimako made a grim revelation regarding the local drug burden, citing a recent targeted survey conducted across the state’s urban and rural zones in collaboration with the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC).
Delivering the keynote address on behalf of Governor Peter Mbah, the Secretary to the Enugu State Government (SSG), Prof. Chidiebere Onyia, praised the partnership. He categorized substance abuse not merely as an isolated medical issue, but as an existential roadblock to regional economic development, safety, and literacy.
Onyia explained that the administration is actively building long-term systemic defenses against criminal exposure through heavy capital investments in human development.
Chief among these is the ongoing construction of 267 cutting-edge Smart Green Schools across the state’s electoral wards, a project designed to offer children a competitive environment and insulate them from vagrancy.
The SSG concluded by calling for a “whole-of-society approach.” He emphasized that while state security forces and corporate organizations like the MTN Foundation provide vital institutional buffers, the ultimate victory over the drug epidemic relies on the active, daily vigilance of parents, religious institutions, and traditional leaders at the grassroots level.
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