By Abiola Olawale
The Chairman, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (rtd), has announced the promotion of 5,042 personnel.
The promotion which came after weeks of thorough examinations and interviews saw the elevation of two senior officers to the rank of Deputy Commander General of Narcotics (DCGN); 22 personnel promoted to the rank of Assistant Commander General of Narcotics (ACGN), and 66 personnel promoted to the rank of Commander of Narcotics (CN).
Speaking in Abuja, Marwa said the promotion is part of an ongoing exercise to enhance human resource management, particularly on staff motivation and welfare, for efficiency and effectiveness in the achievement of organisational goals.
He said: “I am pleased to say that we continue to wax stronger on this journey we embarked on three and a half years ago when we decided to turn around the fortunes of this agency, by improving our performance as a precursor to reversing the perilous drug use situation in our dear country, Nigeria.
“On this occasion of the 8th edition of the commands’ awards and commendations ceremony, we have every reason to be thankful because our performance continuously justifies our conviction in Offensive Action, WADA and other reforms that we undertook.
“For our modest efforts, we have received plaudits at home and abroad. What that means is that we have to do more. The reward for work well done is more work, and in our case, we cannot rest on our oars until all the objectives of our mandate are fully achieved. May I remind you that the bottom line is a drug-free Nigeria?
“On our part as management, we are trying to keep the motivation going, by ensuring that we provide everything necessary to make this work safe, secure and conducive for everyone working in this agency. Our new barracks in Adamawa, Abuja and Lagos are almost complete and will be commissioned soon. The recent promotion of 5, 053 officers speaks volumes about our dedication to prompt and timely promotion of officers. It is symbolic of our effort to break the jinx of stagnation, which was once an albatross for our personnel.
“To further enhance the efficiency and effectiveness of our operations, we are creating five strategic commands in Lagos, FCT, MMIA, Apapa and Tincan. Also in this regard, we’ll be deploying body cameras for the use of our officers on strategic operations to ensure their safety and the integrity of such operations.”
For the officers, men and women of the agency, Marwa charged them to remain upright in the discharge of their duties.
He added: “Let me also seize this occasion to pass some messages to the NDLEA personnel. We have come a long way. In three and a half years, we have taken down as many as 50 identifiable drug cartels, some of them important spokes in the wheel of cocaine, heroin and methamphetamine distribution in the country and the global trafficking network. We have seized a huge quantity of illicit drugs and we have convicted record numbers of drug offenders.
“We have achieved many milestones without soiling our integrity and I expect us to continue on that course. Our core values of integrity, hard work and transparency, among others, must be respected at all times. We need to continue to justify the trust reposed in us by society, and our government, as well as our international partners and governments supporting us across the globe. We have raised the standard and it must not be lowered at any cost or by any means.”
