Ekiti Speaker Urges Youths To Shun Drugs Abuse.

Ekiti Speaker Urges Youths To Shun Drugs Abuse.

....Rallies support for Oyebanji to achieve shared prosperity.

The Speaker of the Ekiti State House of Assembly, Rt. Hon. Adeoye Aribasoye, has called on the youths in the state to refrain from drug abuse for them to realize their potentials and contribute meaningfully to societal development.

Rt. Hon. Aribasoye also charged all stakeholders in the state to join hands together and battle the menace of drug abuse to a standstill in order to have a saner society.

The Speaker made the remarks on Monday while receiving leaders and members of the state chapter of National Youth Council of Nigeria (NYCN) who staged "Ekiti Youth Peace Walk" to the Assembly Complex as part of activities to mark this year's International Day Against Drug Abuse.

Rt. Hon. Aribasoye also used the opportunity of the interface to canvass support of the youths of the state for the Governor, Mr. Biodun Oyebanji, to enable him achieve his Shared Prosperity Agenda for the entire people of the state.

He specifically commended the youths for praising the giant strides of the Oyebanji Administration through the various banners and placards they carried during their procession and also appreciating the efforts of the Governor in their remarks.

The Speaker who was joined by other lawmakers in the Assembly to receive the NYCN team also advised the youths to be part of governance by sponsoring private bills for consideration by the state legislature in critical areas that affect them especially in policy formulation and decision making.

He said the Assembly would like the youth body to do the spadework on a Roadmap to Youth Development in Ekiti State which would incorporate vital areas that concerns the youth like political ascendancy, job creation, economic empowerment, among others.

The Speaker also disclosed the readiness of the Seventh Assembly to come up with a law that would prohibit smoking in public places noting that "public smoking does not only affect the smokers but also affects non-smokers."

Speaking on the effects of drug abuse on the youths, Rt. Hon. Aribasoye regretted that abuse of hard drugs has had a negative effect on the youths urging all concerned individuals, authorities, institutions and bodies to come together and halt the trend in the interest of the youths and their future.

He said: "Today, as you have observed, is the International Day Against Drug Abuse. One of the things that have destroyed the future of the youths is drug abuse and all of us must be ambassadors, all of us must be champions to campaign against drug abuse.

"Anywhere we find ourselves, we must campaign against drug abuse. We just have to do it for us to have a saner society, we must campaign against drug abuse, it is very, very important.

"Drug abuse has affected many lives and destroyed destinies. God has give our youths talents to positively affect their generation and we must not allow drug abuse to hinder them from realizing their potentials. 

"Very soon, we are coming up with a law against public smoking. Public smoking does not only affect the smokers but those who don't smoke who must be protected from the effects of public smoking."

The Speaker further charged the youths to come together as a united force calling all tendencies in the youth movement to come under one umbrella in the interest of the youths of the state.

He promised that when the standing committees of the Assembly are put in place, the Youth Committee would work hand-in-hand with NYCN to protect the interest of the youths and assist them to get the best in the scheme of things in the state.

Speaking earlier, the state NYCN Chairman, Mr. Oluwasegun Famuyibo, pledged the support of the body and entire youths of the state for the Oyebanji Administration which he described as "youth-friendly."

Mr. Famuyibo commended Governor Oyebanji for creating Ministry of Youths and Job Creation which he described as bold step to give the young generation better welfare and tackle youth unemployment in the state.

He also hailed the Oyebanji Administration for various infrastructure projects that are going on in the state especially road construction and rehabilitation, empowerment of the less privileged, improvement of grassroots economy, among others.

Mr. Famuyibo craved the support of the House of Assembly for the implementation of Ekiti Youth Policy which has its centrepiece how youths can benefit from various MDAs, provision of jobs, entrepreneurship development, empowerment, among other benefits.

The state NYCN chief said the youths of the state are against hard drugs and would continue to mount strident advocacy against the menace in collaboration with relevant agencies of government and other stakeholders.

He also presented the action plan of the NYCN to the Speaker for further scrutiny and implementation.

The procession to the Assembly Complex was joined by NYCN leadership and delegates from other states in the Southwest.