Youths in Umuahia North Local Government Area of Abia State have expressed concern over the increasing abuse and trafficking of hard drugs around public primary schools, calling on government to take urgent action to protect children and strengthen community security.
The concerns were raised during the Umuahia North Quarterly Dialogue Session organised by the Catch Them Young Community Initiative (CATYCOI) to promote citizen participation and accountability in local governance.
Speaking at the forum, participants warned that the growing presence of drug dealers around schools exposes children to substance abuse at an early age and called for immediate government intervention to safeguard learning environments.
The youths also highlighted unemployment as a major challenge, urging the government to expand vocational training, entrepreneurship and skills acquisition programmes to create sustainable employment opportunities for young people.
Participants further decried rising living costs, including high electricity bills despite poor power supply and increasing house rents, while calling for measures to protect tenants from exploitation by housing agents.
Persons with Disabilities (PWDs) used the forum to demand greater inclusion in government employment, empowerment and social intervention programmes, stressing that people with intellectual disabilities should not be excluded from development initiatives.
Residents also called for greater transparency in the execution and monitoring of government projects, while expressing concern over recent cases of kidnapping in neighbouring communities and urging security agencies to strengthen surveillance across the area.
Responding on behalf of the Umuahia North Local Government, the Personal Assistant to the Mayor, Ndubueze Fortune, assured participants that security remains a top priority, adding that investigations into recent kidnapping incidents are ongoing.
The Mayor’s Press Secretary, Courage Ogbonna, disclosed that the council has requested the construction of perimeter fences around public primary schools to curb drug trafficking and unauthorised access.
He added that the council is collaborating with security agencies to tackle drug-related crimes and plans to work with members of the Abia State House of Assembly to promote legislation supporting drug rehabilitation programmes.
Ogbonna also assured participants that future government empowerment initiatives would provide greater inclusion for Persons with Disabilities, while explaining that recruitment into the local government remains affected by the existing employment embargo.
The dialogue ended with renewed calls for stronger collaboration between government, civil society organisations and community stakeholders to address youth unemployment, insecurity, drug abuse, disability inclusion and other development challenges in Umuahia North.
