Governor Godwin Obaseki of Edo State has blamed the increasing rate of drug abuse in the state on the lingering strike embarked upon by the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU).
Governor Obaseki described drug abuse as the ‘second biggest’ security threat in the state, aside from road accidents.
According to him, Edo State recorded 19 drug abuse cases for the month of February, 34 cases for the month of March, and 23 similar cases for the month of April.
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Governor Obaseki stated this over the weekend after the state’s security council meeting with security agencies over the weekend,
His words, “Drug abuse ranks among the top two serious security concerns in our state.
“Our analysis shows that there is a high rate of consumption of illicit drugs in the last few months which is not unconnected with the lingering ASUU strike which has kept many students at home and idle,” he said.
While explaining that the strike is one of the factors that is driving the use of illicit drugs in our state, he appealed to ASUU and the federal government to do all they can to end this strike as soon as possible for the interest of the students.
“The idle mind is the devil’s workshop. One way we hope that we can reduce the use of drugs is if we take these children back to school,” the governor said.
Speaking further he lamented the roads account for quite a number of the deaths recorded in the state as a result of vehicular accidents.
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“We also want to use this medium to further appeal to the federal government that the major arterial roads, the major truck roads leading into Edo should be repaired, particularly the Benin-Auchi and Okpella-Okene Roads.”
He noted that the state has enjoyed a relative decline in other incidents, which he said shows that Edo is becoming safer.
Responding, the state’s Commissioner of Police, Mr. Abutu Yaro, assured that the security agencies will continue to do their best in improving the security situation in the state.