FG mandates drug tests for public service job seekers to curb youth abuse menace

From Juliana Taiwo-Obalonye, Abuja

Federal Government has introduced mandatory pre-employment drug testing for all prospective entrants into the public service, aiming to combat the escalating threat of illicit drug use among Nigerian youth and safeguard national security and productivity.

The policy, announced in a service-wide circular from the Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (OSGF), directs Permanent Secretaries and Heads of Extra-Ministerial Departments and Parastatals to embed drug testing as a core recruitment criterion. Ministries, Departments, and Agencies (MDAs) must partner with the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) to administer the tests in line with national standards.
The circular takes immediate effect, signaling a zero-tolerance stance amid ongoing national campaigns against substance abuse.

“This directive underscores the present administration’s resolve to decisively tackle the menace of drug and substance abuse and insulate our national workforce from unwholesome practices,” stated Director of Information and Public Relations at the OSGF,Segun Imohiosen, said in the official press release issued Monday.

Imohiosen highlighted the government’s alarm over the “alarming rate of drug and substance abuse, particularly among the teeming youth,” warning of its “far-reaching implications for public health, socio-economic development, workplace productivity, and national security.” He emphasized that the measure forms part of broader efforts to address the rising consequences of illicit drugs on national development.