Nigeria has been elected to host the next conference of Heads of Drug Law Enforcement Agencies Africa, (HONLEA), in 2023.
This was the unanimous decision of the regional network at the close of its 2022 annual meeting in Nairobi, Kenya at the weekend.
The move by other heads of anti-narcotics agencies in Africa to have Nigeria host the 2023 conference followed the countrys good relationship with others on the continent and NDLEAs exemplary performance in the renewed fight against substance abuse and illicit drug trafficking.
Meanwhile, the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the anti-narcotic agency, Brig. Gen. Mohammed Buba Marwa (rtd) has hold bi-lateral meetings with Kenyan, Gambian, Ghanaian and South African counterparts.
A statement by the Director of Media and Advocacy, Femi Babafemi, has disclosed that in the course of the weeklong conference, Marwa led the Nigerian delegation in presentations on every item of the agenda for discussion, where he shared the countrys experience and successes so far recorded in the drug war as a result of bilateral and multi-lateral cooperation with other stakeholders in Nigeria and partners at both regional and international levels.
On the side-lines of the conference, he also led his team in bi-lateral meetings with his counterparts from Kenya, Gambia, Ghana and South Africa on areas of mutual interests such as intelligence sharing, joint operations, training and exchange programmes, among others.
The bi-lateral meetings also agreed on the setting up of technical working groups on both sides to work on Memorandums of Understanding (MoUs), that will formalise the partnerships and working relationships.
