By Olufemi Oni, Ilorin

As part of its efforts to stem drug abuse in the State, the Kwara State Government has warned that any driver henceforth caught over speeding would be made to undergo mandatory drug test to certify them free of drug abuse and illicit substances.

The state government also said it has extended its mandatory drug test, initially meant for those seeking teaching jobs under its employment, to students as a condition they must fulfil before writing examinations.

It would be recalled that the state government had recently made drug test mandatory for successful applicants shortlisted for teaching jobs out of which seven of them failed the test and forfeited their employment slots.

Speaking on Thursday in Ilorin, the state capital, during a Road Walk to commemorate the 2025 United Nations Day against Drug Abuse and other illicit substances, the Commissioner for Social Development, Mariam Ipman, who represented Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq at the event, said the state government, aside from its sensitisation campaigns, was taking more tough measures against drug abuse and illicit substances because of their harmful effects on the society.

She said: “One of the steps we are taking is first of all, we are doing sensitisation and also making sure that at school level, the teachers are being sensitised, while also ensuring that we subject them to mandatory drug test before being employed to be part of the system.

“We are taking it down to the school level where teachers and students will be taking the drug test before taking exams to make sure that those students are fit before taking any kind of exams.

“We are also taking it down to societal level, if we see that you are over speeding, we will give you a ticket to go and do drug abuse test and make sure that the over speeding you are doing is not as a result of taking illicit substances. So we are doing a lot.”

For his part, the Special Assistant to the Governor on drug abuse prevention and control, Hon. Haliru Olalekan Mikail, called for concerted efforts to curb the menace of drug abuse and illicit substances in the society.

“We can’t blame anybody, it’s our collective responsibility, we all have to go out there and fight the menace because it can hinder our state and community development. It can do a lot to our society, so we don’t apportion blame at this moment. Things have gone bad already, we are looking at how we can salvage the situation”, he said.

Also speaking, the Kwara State Commander, National Drug Law Enforcement Agency ()NDLEA, Hajia Fatima Popoola, and Deputy Chief Whip, Kwara State House of Assembly, Hon Mariam Aladi, expressed satisfaction with the level of sensitisation and measures put in place by the state government to stem the tide.

The theme for this year’s commemoration is ‘Prevention Treatment, Recovery For All: Break the Chain’.