United States Consul General, Lagos, Mr. Jeffery Hawkins has
described Nigeria as a great partner of the United States in drug
control. The US envoy who spoke while presenting technical equipment to
the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) in Lagos said that the
equipment will be used in the establishment of a Centre for intelligence
sharing between the two countries.
“NDLEA is a great partner for the United States in drug control. The
United States embarks on serious war against narcotics and we are proud
to contribute in developing the capacity of the NDLEA through the
establishment of a Centre for intelligence sharing” Hawkins stated.
Chairman/Chief Executive of the Agency, Ahmadu Giade who received the
items said that the country’s partnership with the United States has
been very fruitful. “The relationship between the United States
Government and the Government of Nigeria has been characterized by
similar gestures in the area of technical support. It is important to
acknowledge your sustained determination to support Nigeria in winning
the fight against notorious drug trafficking syndicates. This assistance
to the Agency is highly treasured” Giade stated.
The NDLEA boss attributed the high performance of the Agency to the
growing support and partnership it has with the United States. In his
words, “our collaboration in the area of intelligence gathering and
joint operations has undisputedly led to high profile seizures and
arrests. Training remains vital to the success of any
intelligence-driven task like drug control. Your training programmes for
operatives as well as high level seminars and workshops have helped
greatly to enhance the capacity of personnel. We are appreciative of
your support and highly motivated by your continued determination to
extend our frontiers of success in the drug war”.
According to Giade, “the Agency’s investigative capacity at the
airports has been greatly enhanced with the provision of scanners by the
United States Government. The Agency will continue to justify the
confidence you repose in us”.
While appreciating the removal of Nigeria from the Drug Majors List
by the US he equally called on the envoy to assist the Agency in
advocacy campaign. “The prompt and objective assessment by the United
States Government which led to the removal of Nigeria from the “Drug
Majors List” has further increased the tempo of our campaign. We hope we
can count on your advocacy support to ensure that more attention and
resources are devoted to the all-important war against drug abuse and
illicit drug trafficking” Giade stated.
No comments:
Post a Comment