The Chairman, National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), Brig.-Gen. Buba Marwa (retd), has honoured 166 officers and 17 commands with awards and commendations for  hard work and effective service to the nation.

Mr Marwa honoured the officers at the 11th chairman/chief executive officer (CCEO) awards and commendation ceremony on Tuesday in Abuja.

He said that the 11th CCEO awards honoured gallant personnel who had demonstrated exceptional courage and integrity in the line of duty.

He charged the officers to brace up for more tactically sophisticated operations against drug cartels, barons and their mules in the next five years of his second tenure.

Addressing the officers, men and women of the agency, Mr Marwa said, “The next phase of our operations demands even more grit and more tactical sophistication. We will not rest until every drug baron is behind bars, every trafficker is intercepted, every mule is caught, and every single gram of illicit drug is removed from our streets and communities.

“There is no room for complacency. We must remain proactive, intelligence-led, and ruthless in our pursuit of those who seek to destroy our youths and our national security. Let me be clear: the objective of this agency remains the total disruption of drug trafficking and the protection of our communities.

“The expectation is sustained pressure until every drug baron, trafficker, courier, and gram of illicit drugs are taken out of our streets and communities. There will be no retreat and no complacency.”

Mr Marwa charged the awardees to see their plaques and certificates as reminders that their hard work was valued, urging the rest of the force to find inspiration in their achievements.

He said, “As we are all aware, the commands awards and commendations is an internal reward mechanism that comes after our biannual appraisal. It is enshrined in our corporate culture and acts as a booster to individual and collective commitment to the attainment of organisational goals.

“I believe that everyone in this organisation is in accord that we now have a sense of urgency towards our assignment. There is no gainsaying that our dedication to duty has been the driving force behind our good performance; at the same time, it is also not an exaggeration to say that our good performance is catalysed by motivation.

“As proven right by events in the past five years, management’s decision to deploy multipronged motivational mechanism to improve the organisation’s work ethic is part of the recipe for the resurgence of the agency and the resultant spectacular performance. On that score, management is committed to doing everything possible to improve productivity on the job. Part of that effort is why we are here today.”

Mr Marwa equally acknowledged the critical role of international partners, sister agencies, civil society, and the media in the successes recorded so far.

He, however, called for deeper strategic partnerships in the years ahead to protect the future of Nigerian children.

(NAN)