Kwara State Government has announced that drivers caught over-speeding will now face mandatory drug testing to determine if they are under the influence of illicit substances, as part of intensified efforts to combat drug-related road safety risks.

The directive, disclosed during a 2025 United Nations International Day Against Drug Abuse awareness campaign on Thursday, was reiterated by Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq's representative, Commissioner for Social Development Mariam Imam , who stated: "This measure is a critical step in addressing the link between substance abuse and reckless driving."

The initiative expands the state's existing drug testing policy, previously limited to job applicants, to include students preparing for examinations and drivers violating traffic rules. Earlier tests for prospective teachers under the state's employment scheme resulted in the disqualification of seven candidates who tested positive for controlled substances.

Commissioner Imam urged citizens to support the policy, noting that substance abuse poses a growing threat to public safety and national development.

"One of the steps we are taking is first of all, we are doing sensitisation, and we also make sure that at school levels, the teachers are being sensitised and also ensure that we subject them to mandatory drug test before being employed to be part of the system.

"We are taking it down to the school level where teachers and students will be taking the drug test before taking exams to make sure that those students are fit before taking any kind of exams.

"We are also taking it down to societal level. If we see that you are over-speeding, we will give you a ticket to go and do drug abuse test and make sure that the overs-peeding you are doing is not a result of illicit substances. So we are doing a lot," she said.

Also speaking at the event, the Special Assistant to the Governor on Drug Abuse Prevention and Control, Haliru Olalekan Mikail, called for collaborative action against drug abuse, emphasizing its threat to community and state development.

"We can't blame anybody, it's our collective responsibility. We all have to go out there and fight the menace because it can hinder our state and community development. It can do a lot of bad to our society. So, we don't apportion blame at this moment, things have gone bad already, we are looking at how we can salvage the situation," he said.

The Kwara State Commander of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency, NDLEA, Hajia Fatima Popoola, and the Deputy Chief Whip of the Kwara State House of Assembly, Marriam Aladi, both commended the state government's commitment to sensitisation and proactive measures in addressing drug-related challenges.