WorldStage– Vice-President Kashim Shettima of Nigeria has declared support for the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) and the MTN Nigeria Foundation’s partnership to conduct a national survey on substance use in Nigeria.
Shettima disclosed this during the signing of the letter of acceptance for cooperation on the survey between the two organisations, held at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.
He also pledged the commitment of the federal government to take ownership and leadership of the initiative.
According to Shettima, the federal government is involved in the initiative, which is essential to Nigeria’s survival as a nation.
” We expect the findings to land as policy inputs, not as documents and we expect a full and final report not later than the first quarter of 2027.
” I want to be clear that the Office of the Vice President’s role is not ceremonial.
” We are in this for the outcome because the survey report will provide relevant authorities with granular local government data required to design and implement critical interventions.
“We are establishing a Project Management Office (PMO) within this office.
” The PMO will coordinate government’s participation across all stages: questionnaire design, field oversight, inter-agency engagement, and the launch and utilisation of the final report.”
He acknowledged the contributions of all partners in the project, noting that they reflect the kind of private sector engagement that drives national development.
The foundation’s Executive Director, Mrs Odunayo Sanya, explained that the initiative was aimed at deepening its partnership with the federal government in preserving the future of the Nigerian youth.
She said that the survey, to be conducted at local government level, would be comprehensive.
Sanya assured that the survey would be fully supported by the MTN foundation which has similar projects ongoing across different parts of Nigeria.
The Country Representative of the UNODC, Cheikh Toure, said the partnership was a powerful signal of the country’s determination under President Bola Tinubu to combat drug abuse and related crimes.
He said the UNODC was inspired to commit its technical expertise in the project by the quality of leadership demonstrated by Nigeria.
Toure said the UNODC remains fully committed to walking the same path with Nigeria on the project.He described the project as the beginning of a more strategic engagement between Nigeria, the private sector and the United Nations family.
