The only way to ensure party supporters do away with drugs during the campaign is to ensure that politicians do not encourage the sale or use of drugs around their campaign grounds.
The Katsina State Commander of the National Drugs Law Enforcement Agency, NDLEA, Muhammed Ibrahim, who made this known at the command’s rehabilitation centre, further challenged politicians to submit themselves for drug integrity tests, which will, in turn, be a message to their supporters.
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According to the Commander, the ongoing electioneering campaigns leading to the 2023 General Elections, can only be free, fair and peaceful, if politicians caution their supporters against drug abuse.
He added that “As a politician, you don’t need to give drugs to your supporters, for them to be able to support you, and you don’t need to be violent. The drug we say is the mother of all crimes, if you’re giving them drugs, then you are encouraging them to go into crime. So our campaign will not be free, and the election will not likely be free and fair”.
While urging politicians to engage in issue-based campaigns, Ibrahim challenged them to desist from giving their supporters and strongly cautioned against the sale of drugs on campaign grounds.
“I don’t believe they’re doing that, but they should not encourage substance sale or any form of drug sale within their campaign environment, they should not encourage those that are using drugs within their campaign environment, and we still advise the politicians, let them come up for integrity test. I’m happy that some of the governorship candidates are doing that, they should take a cue from that. If your supporter is seeing that you have come for a test and you are free, they will know that you are not going to encourage substance use during your campaign”, he said.
(Editor: Ifeanyi Mark)
