The National Agriculture Land Development Authority (NALDA) says it is empowering 500 rehabilitated male and female drug addicts in Kano State by giving them livestock.

In a statement issued on Wednesday in Abuja, NALDA’s executive secretary, Paul Ikonne, said that 200 males and 300 females rehabilitated from drug addiction would get goats and cows.

This, Mr Ikonne said, was to engage rehabilitated drug addicts in meaningful activities.

“If beneficiaries are left without empowerment, they will revert to drug abuse.

“This is a way of keeping them out of drugs and engaging them meaningfully,” he said.

The first phase of the empowerment, he said, would be completed in March, adding that 100 women already got three goats each while 200 youths got a cow per two persons.

“We have empowered the first 300 beneficiaries; the remaining 200 beneficiaries will get the empowerment by March,’’ he stated.

The beneficiaries would be trained in animal husbandry and financial capacity building to enhance their ability to manage their businesses, he stated.

Mr Ikonne explained that NALDA was collaborating with the NDLEA and an NGO, Salamah Youth Empowerment and Enlightenment Initiative to execute the empowerment.

He explained also that those who got cows would sell them in three months and keep the profit while the capital is re-invested in buying new cows for them.

(NAN)