Richard Ginika Izuora
The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), on Friday, December 11, said it found drug addicts among the 250 candidates of political parties in the forthcoming Kano State local government elections.
This was contained in a statement issued by the NDLEA Commander in the state, Ibrahim Abdul while speaking on the discovery on Friday.
Abdul said the NDLEA uncovered that some of the candidates had symptoms of drug abuse.
He explained that during the screening of the candidates for the positions of Chairman, Deputy Chairman, and Councillors, in compliance with the state government’s order to ensure that no drug addict would be elected into any public office, some candidates were discovered to have traces of drugs in their system.
In his statement, Abdul said: “I am glad to inform you that Gov. Abdullahi Ganduje had sent names of his appointed commissioners, assistants and advisers for similar screening before confirming their appointments.
“The Emirate Council has also been sending traditional title appointees for screening; therefore, we are always ready to screen any appointee sent to us.
“We have so far screened over 250 candidates both for the Chairmanship; Deputy Chairmanship; and Councillorship positions.
“We found some of them with symptoms of drug abuse. We will not tell you their names or local governments.
“At the end of the exercise, we will write to the appropriate authorities for further actions.”