Professor Chukwuma Soludo,
governor of Anambra State, has definitely taken the daring move of relocating
the renowned drug market from Head Bridge in Onitsha to Oba in Idemili South
local government area.
Prior administrations in the state
had made repeated attempts to relocate the market, which was regarded as one of
the largest in the country, however drug traffickers themselves had consistently
provided a stumbling obstacle.
During the weekend inauguration
ceremony for the International Drug Coordinated Wholesale Center in Oba, Soludo
revealed that the project would be funded by Sterling Bank Plc and would have a
24-month completion timeline.
According to him, the health of the people was of the utmost importance to him, and it was for this reason that his
government chose to completely implement steps for effective regulation in the
drug administration sector.
He was overjoyed because when
completed, the initiative will be Africa's largest medicine delivery center.
The governor issued a 24-month
deadline for all open drug markets in the state, particularly the Onitsha drug
market, to relocate, emphasizing that after the deadline, their current
facilities would be deemed unlawful and thus razed.
He said that beyond the deadline, the Oba market will become the state's only licensed place for wholesale narcotics trafficking, expressing hope that the center would be technology-driven, in accordance with his government's policy of a smart megacity.
He was sure that the abandoned multi-million naira Oba International market would be the position to use.
The Commissioner for Health, Dr.
Afam Obidike spoke on the necessity to regulate the environment anywhere drugs
were sold, directing that the existence of an open drug market might lead to
the supply of fake and contaminated drugs which were ill-disposed to human
health.
Post a Comment