By Mustapha Salisu
In an effort to expedite the passage and enactment of the “Kano State Drugs and Substance Abuse Management Bill (2023),” the Savannah Centre for Diplomacy, Democracy, and Development (SCDDD), a non-governmental organization, convened a stakeholders meeting on Thursday.
According to Prime Time News, the Centre collaborated with the Kano State House of Assembly and the Community Initiative to Promote Peace (CIPP) project for this engagement.
Mr. Olaogun Michael, the Centre’s Programme Officer, provided a summary of SCDDD’s efforts on the bill, stating that between September 26th and 27th, the Centre had an expert desk-review session to analyze line-by-line the “Kano State Drugs and Substance Abuse Management Bill (2023)” for the purpose of re-presentation for debate and passage in the Assembly.
He noted that the review meeting laid the groundwork for developing context on drug abuse in Kano state and established the menace of substance abuse and conflict dynamics at the community level in Kano state and, by extension, the Northwest geo-political zone of Nigeria.
Speaking to newsmen after the meeting, the Center’s Senior Programme Manager/Head of Communication and Advocacy, Sir Bola Abimbola, disclosed that the engagement is a follow up to the request made by the Deputy Speaker, Kano State House of Assembly and members of the House Committee on Health during an advocacy for redraft of the bill during a visit made to the House by the Centre on 12th of September 2023.
“It was a project which we started since the previous government of Governor Abdullahi Umar Ganduje. Unfortunately, despite passing the bill by the House of Assembly but it couldn’t attract assent”
“So this time around we have started engagements with the current House leadership to ensure a speedy passage and eventual assent of the bill by the Governor as drugs and substance abuse has been identified as a very serious menace in this country and unfortunately, Kano state has been identified to have the highest indices” Abimbola disclosed.
Sir Bola further revealed that the bill has passed the first reading and hopeful by January when the state house of Assembly resumes in full, the Centre is targeting pushing second reading of the bill.
He went on to call on concerned citizens to remember that irrespective of political affiliations, each and everyone has a role to play in combating drugs and substance abuse in Kano state and therefore everyone should put hands on deck to support advocacy for speedy passage and eventual assent of the “Kano State Drugs and Substance Abuse Management Bill (2023)”.
Earlier, stakeholders at the meeting including representatives from different Civil Society Organizations, National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), Academicians, Members of the Media among others deliberated and offered workable solutions like intensifying advocacy via the media, engagement with some identified key political actors, business magnets, traditional/religious leaders, Ministries related to the bill among others to influence speedy passage and assent of the bill.
