Ahead of the All Progressive Congress (APC) state congress scheduled for October 16, all contestants into executive offices are to be subjected to mandatory drug test.

Kano State Commissioner for Information, Malam Muhammad Garba, who disclosed this in a statement, said all contestants are to visit the state office of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) by 7:am, starting from Tuesday, October 12 to the day of the closing of the screening exercise for the test.

Garba, who said the decision was part of government policy to rid Kano of illicit substance and drug abuse, warned that no contestant would be screened without undergoing the mandatory drug test.

He said similar tests were carried out for contestants into local government election as well as political appointees including members of the state executive council before offering them portfolio.

The commissioner disclosed that already, Governor Abdullahi Ganduje had mandated the state office of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) to conduct the tests.

Garba, who reaffirmed Ganduje administration’s commitment to check drug abuse among political leaders and office holders in the state.

He also added that the state government would not hesitate to issue necessary disciplinary measures against anyone found with the trace of illicit substance including a compulsory recommendation for rehabilitation.

He also recalled that during the conduct of similar tests on contestants for the local government election, no fewer than 13 councillorship candidates were disqualified and replaced based on a report by the NDLEA, after they tested positive for drugs.

Garba said the Ganduje-led administration has been passionate about fighting illicit drug trafficking and abuse and has instituted programmes aimed at curtailing drug abuses.

The commissioner noted the measure include setting up and streamlining activities of the state Task Force Committee on Illicit Drugs, which had intercepted and destroyed drugs worth billions of naira.