Ojudu, Bamidele express worry over unemployment, illicit drugs

The Senator-elect in Ekiti Central, Mr. Babafemi Ojudu, has expressed worry over the increase in the use of hard drugs by youths in the state.

Ojudu, who was a former Managing Editor of The News, in an interview with journalists in Ado-Ekiti on Thursday, said he observed that frustration from unemployment was driving most of the youths to drugs, especially Indian hemp.

The Action Congress of Nigeria senator-elect said that he would collaborate with the state government to find a solution to the problem.

He said that the use of hard drugs, especially by the youths in the state, portended a great danger to the society.

He said, “I observed while moving round that there is massive unemployment among our youths. Some of the youths who are supposed to be contributing to the development of the country have become drug addicts.

“I saw a lot of places where people smoke marijuana openly. This is not hidden, when you go on the streets in the inner city, you see fire in their eyes. Some of them don’t have teeth again, I mean, young guys. It was not so when I was growing up. Frustration from unemployment is driving some of them to drugs.”

He said that something needed to be done urgently to solve the problem otherwise everybody in the state might suffer the negative effect of the problem.

Also, the House of Representatives member-elect in Ekiti Central Federal Constituency I, Mr. Opeyemi Bamidele, has said that the victory of the ACN in the state and other parts of the South-West has placed a huge responsibility on those elected under the umbrella of the party.

Bamidele, who is a former Commissioner for Information and Strategy in Lagos State, said that rather than celebration, the elected officials should begin to think of how to address the problems confronting the people.

He said that the people had been dehumanised during the eight-year reign of the Peoples Democratic Party in the state.

Bamidele promised not to renege on his electoral promises to donate his salary and to cater for the welfare of the people of the constituency.

According to him, a special account will be created and it will be managed by a reputable committee. He said that he was moved by the level of poverty and unemployment among the people of the state.

This, he attributed to the mismanagement of the little resources of the state by the PDP regime, which was sacked on October 15, 2010.

The lawmaker-elect, who hailed the Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission, Prof. Atahhiru Jega, and President Goodluck Jonathan for ensuring electoral reform, said that the success of his party in Ekiti State was an indication that the party was able to manage well its internal crisis, which was triggered by the primary election.