The National Union of Road Transport Workers, NURTW, has launched a campaign to educate commercial drivers in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) on the dangers of illegal drug consumption.
Olugbade Olagunju, the Secretary, NURTW in FCT, made this known in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria on Monday in Abuja.
Mr Olagunju said that the campaign would begin at Jabi Motor Park before extending to other parks in the FCT.
According to him, the campaign is targeted at commercial drivers, to dissuade them from illegal drug consumption and all attendant crimes associated with it.
He decried the rise in the consumption of various types of illicit drugs among drivers, adding that the development had made them irresponsible.
“Our drivers should know that abuse of drugs will bring lots of health hazards and that the end result of it is death.”
Mr Olagunju said that the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency, NDLEA, had been assisting the park in the campaign against drug abuse by organising workshops to educate drivers on the dangers associated with drug abuse.
“What NDLEA is projecting has been helping us in the park; it has been beneficial to both our drivers as well as people within the park.
“On our part, we also conduct thorough checks on our drivers before they move out of the park, so as not to put the lives of the passengers in danger,’’ Mr Olagunju said.
He said that the management would continue to ensure that prohibited substances were not brought to the park or any place nearby.
He also noted that negligence and illegal drug consumption were among the major causes of road accidents.
NAN
