The Senate on Thursday faulted a proposal by the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), to second its operatives to Nigerian missions abroad as “drug attachés.”
The Director-General/ Secretary of the NDLEA, Shadrach Haruna, who represented the Chairman of the Agency, Mohammed Buba Marwa, at a public hearing on the “National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) Act Cap N30 Laws of the Federation of Nigeria (LFN) 2004 (Amendment) Bill, 2021” had in his presentation said that the agency has proposed an amendment to its Act to enable it to send drug attachés to Nigerian missions in foreign countries.
The public hearing was organised by the Senate Committee on Drugs and Narcotics, chaired by Senator Hezekiah Dimka.
Haruna said: “Section 45 is amended by adding the following new subsection (3): ‘The Agency may in consultation with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, or any Ministry known by whatsoever name responsible for foreign affairs of the country, appoint a drug attaché from amongst its staff to serve in any Nigerian diplomatic mission abroad.’
“The amendment of Section 45 is to empower the Agency to appoint Drug Attachés to any country of choice in consultation with the Ministry in charge of foreign affairs.”
However, a member of the Committee, Senator Yahaya Oloriegbe, queried the proposal and insisted that the implication of such a development may be grave on the nation’s scarce resources.
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