Ahemd Siddeeq, a state minster at the Homeland Security Ministry, has been appointed as the chairperson of the National Drug Agency (NDA) – a role that had been vacant for the last two months.
The NDA announced Siddeeq’s appointment as the agency’s chairperson on Monday morning via its official Facebook page.
Siddeeq, an attorney-at-law, had previously been seen being involved in leading the Department of Juvenile Justice (DJJ). He had also served as a deputy minister at the Home Ministry back during former President Abdulla Yameen Abdul Gayoom’s administration.
Siddeeq replaces former state minister at the Homeland Security Ministry, Lubna Zahir, who had been heading the NDA since June 2024, but was abruptly transferred to the Foreign Ministry in October.
The NDA has also been operating without a CEO for over a year, ever since the dismissal of Imad Solih in July 2024.
The NDA is charged with leading the battle against the country’s drug crisis – a crisis that critics say the agency is failing to effectively tackle.