The All Progressives Congress (APC) candidate for Ado/Okpokwu/ Ogbadibo federal constituency of Benue State in the 2023 elections, Chief Philip Agbese, has dared his opponents to partake in a drug integrity test to be conducted by the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA).
Agbese said this was to ascertain the mental well-being of those who intend to represent the people in 2023, especially with the recent spate of drug abuse among the political class.
The APC candidate made this known in a statement signed by Hon. Ben Jubril Ekwote, the Director of Strategic Communication of the Philip Agbese Campaign Organisation.
Recall that the NDLEA had few months recommended drug integrity tests for potential public office-holders.
The anti-narcotics agency seeks to make the test as a fundamental component of the screening checklist for party flagbearers for elections.
The statement noted that Benue South Senatorial District deserves to know if their representatives are already drug addicts/users, who might spend all the money for governance to consume cocaine to the detriment of the people.
He, therefore, challenged the Senator representing Benue South, Abba Moro, Aida Nath, and other People’s Democratic Party (PDP) candidates in the zone to a public drug certification by the NDLEA.
He added that this will eliminate any doubt and ensure that citizens were not swayed to vote for drug addicts suffering from narcotic-induced ailments.
The campaign group said their candidate was ready to take the test at any designated drug testing center settled for by their opponents.
Ekwote added that his principal has no criminal record anywhere in the world “unlike those that want to award the seat of the House of Representatives of Ado/Ogbadibo/Okpokwu Federal Constituency to their concubines.”
According to him, “the seat is too big to be used by anyone to settle debts and promises made to women whilst in bed.”
He, however, said the federal constituency parades some of the most outstanding intellectuals who have equally offered high-quality representation, adding that no one should take the people for granted.