The National Drug Enforcement Agency, NDLEA, has promoted 3,506 officers, who had been stagnated on thesame position for up to 20 years, according to the agency’s chairman, Buba Marwa.
General Buba Marwa made this known during the weekly press briefing hosted by the Presidential Communications Team, led by Femi Adesina, at the State House, Abuja, on Thursday..
The NDLEA boss said the promotion exercise was aimed at boosting the morale of affected workers, as well as improving their productivity.
He said the agency’s management had also made vigorous efforts to eliminate a slew of unpaid staff rights, including burial costs for the families of 188 officers who have died in the line of duty since 2014.
“And for agents on duty, we have implemented a bi-monthly reward system, in addition to other professional incentives.
“To avoid a relapse, management has set in motion a continuous process of review and continuous improvement of well-being and working conditions, necessary for the emergence of a world-class anti-narcotics agency.
“Part of this process includes the proposed new salary structure, pending approval and implementation, and the payment of group employee accident insurance, the premiums of which have not been paid since 2014” , did he declare.
According to him, the agency has closed all the details and his officers and men were now eligible for prompt compensation for permanent / temporary disability, medical expenses, injuries sustained in the line of duty or death.
Marwa said the efficiency of field workers had also been enhanced with the distribution of vehicles and equipment, including weapons and ammunition to the various commands.
He added that management has reinvigorated the process of amending the NDLEA law to complete the overhaul of the agency, to provide a more solid legal framework to deal with the current challenges of drug abuse and trafficking. .
“Out of necessity, we also had to increase our workforce by resuming the recruitment and training suspended in 2019 of 5,000 agents, with others to join in the coming months.
“Once the process is complete, the agency’s workforce will have doubled by 200% by mid-2022,” he added.
Marwa added that the agency’s pace of work was high as it remained determined to comb through the nooks and crannies of the country in search of drug lords, arrest and imprison, based on provisions of the NDLEA law.
The anti- narcotic agency’s boss also stated that the political will and determination of President Muhammadu Buhari had prompted the officers and men of the agency to do more in the service of their homeland.
“It is prudent for me to state up front that an NDLEA progress report should not be viewed as an isolated assessment; rather, it should be seen as an integral part of the anti-drug trafficking campaign of President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration.
“Not only did the President set the tone in the fight against illicit drugs by giving the agency the mandate, direction and goals set, but he also provided the catalyst, the will, the financial intervention and the support. morale that strengthened the NDLEA’s ability to act.
“Coupled with technical support from the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, UNODC, the fight against illicit drugs has never been so intense, targeted or impactful in the history of Nigeria. As might be expected, the results were justified.
He said the agency had so far seized drugs and substances worth one billion naira, adding that it would soon receive support from Germany, worth two million naira. euros for the creation of a dog training center, which would be used for the training of Agency members. sniffer dogs
