FG, MTN Foundation, UNODC  partner to preserve future of Nigeria’s youths

The Federal Government, on Wednesday, said it would support the partnership between the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) and the MTN Nigeria Foundation on the national survey on substance use in Nigeria.

Vice President  Kashim Shettima made the pledge to take ownership and leadership of the initiative.

Stanley Nkwocha, Senior Special Assistant to the President on Communications, Office of the Vice President, in a statement, said the Federal Government would be involved in the initiative, which he said, is essential to Nigeria’s survival as a nation.

Speaking at the Presidential Villa, on Wednesday, during the signing of the letter of acceptance for cooperation on the National Substance Use Survey in Nigeria between the UNODC and MTN Nigeria Foundation, Shettima stated that “we expect the findings to land as policy inputs, not as documents and we expect a full and final report no later than the first quarter of next year.

“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 utilization of the final report.”

Shettima, who acknowledged the contributions of all partners in the project, noted that they reflect the kind of private sector engagement that drives national development and thus worth emulating.

Earlier, Odunayo Sanya, Executive Drirector, MTN Nigeria Foundation, in her remarks, said the initiative was aimed at deepening the partnership between the Foundation and the Federal Government in terms of national development and preserving the future of Nigeria’s youth population.

She said the survey, which would be conducted at local government level, would be comprehensive and has the full support of the MTN Nigeria Foundation  which has similar projects ongoing across different parts of Nigeria.

Ousmane Toure, Country Representative of the UNODC, in his remarks, said the partnership with his organisation like MTN and the Federal Government of Nigeria, was inspiring and a powerful signal of the country’s determination under President 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 which has shown in concrete terms how vision and purpose combine to deliver landmark results.

The country representative said the UNODC remains fully committed to walking the same path with Nigeria on the project, which he described as the beginning of a more strategic engagement between the government of Nigeria, the private sector and the United Nations family.