The Ondo State Oil Producing Areas Development Commission (OSOPADEC) and the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) have begun moves to deepen collaboration against drug abuse and insecurity in Ilaje and Ese-Odo Local Government Areas of the state.
The Executive Chairman of OSOPADEC, Prince Biyi Poroye, stated this on Tuessday when he received the newly posted Ondo State Commander of the NDLEA, CN Folayemi Gabriel Adeyemo, who led a delegation on a courtesy visit to the Commission’s headquarters.
Poroye said the fight against drug abuse and insecurity required a coordinated approach involving relevant government institutions and security agencies, particularly in the riverine communities and waterways of the state.
He disclosed that OSOPADEC was already exploring collaboration with Ondo State office of Marine and Blue Economy, stressing that the NDLEA should be part of the proposed security framework alongside the Nigerian Navy and the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC).
According to him, such collaboration would provide a coordinated operational framework for securing the waterways and vulnerable communities within the Commission’s mandate areas.
“God has been so kind to us since we came on board. We have established cordial and functional relationship with security agencies in the State. We have remained focused and determined, and we have been able to drive home benefits and projects that are people-oriented. People can see what we are doing,” Poroye said.
The Chairman assured the NDLEA of OSOPADEC’s willingness to support the agency within the limits of its statutory mandate and available resources.
Poroye also proposed a sensitisation programme involving ex-militants, youths and other critical stakeholders as part of efforts to combat drug abuse at the grassroots.
He said taking the campaign directly to communities would help reach young people and other vulnerable groups who might otherwise remain outside the reach of conventional sensitisation programmes.
“Once the society is drug-free, it is for everybody’s benefit,” he said.
Poroye congratulated Adeyemo on his posting to Ondo State and wished him a successful and peaceful tenure.
Speaking earlier, CN Gabriel Adeyemo thanked OSOPADEC management for receiving his delegation, saying the visit was to formally introduce the new NDLEA command and strengthen the existing partnership between both organisations.
He noted that the mandates of OSOPADEC and the NDLEA were closely connected, particularly in protecting young people and communities from the dangers of drug abuse.
Adeyemo expressed concern over the increasing exposure of young people, including underage children, to illicit drugs, stressing that the trend was placing pressure on the state’s rehabilitation facilities, whose capacity he described as inadequate.
He therefore emphasised the need for stronger prevention, sensitisation and community-based interventions, disclosing that the NDLEA had intensified its War Against Drug Abuse (WADA) campaign in schools, markets, motor parks and other public places.
Also speaking, the Permanent Secretary of OSOPADEC, F. A. Omomowo, commended the NDLEA delegation for the visit and stressed the importance of sustained cooperation among security agencies operating within the Commission’s mandate areas.
Omomowo described Poroye as a hospitable but firm leader who had continued to provide direction for the Commission.
He expressed optimism that the visit would herald a new chapter of stronger collaboration between OSOPADEC and the NDLEA in the fight against drug abuse and insecurity across the mandate areas.
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