Date: 2019-08-22

Kwara State Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq has called on youths to shun drug abuse and other vices that could affect them from realising their potentials.

AbdulRazaq gave the advice on Tuesday evening in Ilorin, the state capital, when he received members of the Scouts Association of Nigeria, Kwara State Chapter, led by its commissioner, Deacon Olabisi Afolayinka, at the Government House, Ilorin.

The governor, who recalled his days as a Scout boy in the Capital School, Kaduna, said the association had contributed to nurturing youths to becoming good citizens and contributing to societal growth.

"This is an association that prepares youth on how to be good citizens and how to relate with fellow citizens. These are virtues that the youths should maintain today. In our days, there were no rampant cases of drug abuse," he said.

He urged the youths to use their energy for productive ventures and to join the Scout to make positive contributions to society.

AbdulRazaq, who was announced as the association's Ambassador of Peace, promised to live up to expectations by giving the necessary support to the body through relevant government agencies

Afolayanka said the constitution of the body automatically makes the governor of any state its patron and the president its grand patron.

He lauded AbdulRazaq for the audience extended to the body, saying that was the first time any governor was hosting them in Kwara State for the past 21 years.

He said the association had been founded to build young boys and girls to make useful contributions to the country, saying cultism and other vices were not known in schools in the past when Scouts held sway.

He urged the governor to support the association to carry out its mandates in Kwara State.