The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) is currently passing through hard times financially, to the extent that Management of the agency has decided to put on hold several projects scheduled for early part of this year.

A top official of the agency told Political Economist that the agency is finding it difficult paying staff salary as at when due.

“As I am talking to you now, we are yet to collect our February salary, and we are already in mid-March. Some of us scheduled for annual leave for February have gone and come back without collecting their leave allowances. Even our salaries when it is paid these days, come without our allowances. For instance, they stopped paying my housing allowance since September last year. This agency is broke, period.”

When our reporter visited the headquarters of NDLEA, in Ikoyi, Lagos, South-West Nigeria, the entire premises was without power supply, including the Chairman’s office. Sources stated that the agency runs zero budget as such rely solely on public power supply (PHCN), ” the moment PHCN takes light, that is the end, we cannot run our generators because of high cost of diesel. There is just no money to buy diesel to power the generator. In fact that is luxury.”

Similarly, indications were strong that the agency may risk the world anti-narcotic body’s sanction if it fails to implement the resolution reached at the 57th Session of the Commission on Narcotic Drugs (CND), in Vienna, Austria .

Eleven point agenda-resolutions were adopted by the participants at the conference. The policies adopted at the 57th Session of the Commission on Narcotic Drugs (CND), stressed on health, prevention and treatment in countering world drug problem.

Alternative development, substance use disorders, new psychoactive substances, adequate services for drug abusers and evidence-based drug use prevention were discussed. But all these policies are capital intensive for an agency that has no serious budget to fight drug war.

For one week, several discussions on drug policy of the 57th Session of the Commission on Narcotic Drugs (CND) were held which suggested the way forward in tackling illicit drugs trafficking and consumption.

After the seven days deliberations and debate on drug policy, the 57th Session of the Commission on Narcotic Drugs (CND) closed with member states adopting 11 resolutions.

The 57th CND session ended with resolutions and ministerial statement stressing health, prevention and treatment in countering world drug problem. Also, alternative development, substance use disorders, new psychoactive substances, adequate services for drug abusers and evidence-based drug use prevention were discussed.

Addressing the assembled Member States in his closing speech, the Executive Director of the UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), Yury Fedotov, said that, over the past seven days, the world had gathered in Vienna to discuss the key challenges in drug policy.

When our reporter called the spokesperson to the agency, Mitchelle Ofoyoju, for his reaction, his phone rang out without response.

However, the Chairman of the agency, Ahmadu Giade, said he was not aware of such development in the agency. He added that the CND submission would be adopted and implemented by the agency. Asked if there were funds for the implementation, he said “when we get to that bridge, we would cross it.”