A bill requiring nationwide road transport workers to undergo regular drug testing is currently awaiting the approval of President Bola Tinubu.
The announcement was made by Dr. Vincent Udeze, Managing Director/CEO of Intersect Consortium, during the third annual conversation conference held in Abuja on Mental Health Awareness Day.
He stated that the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Senator George Akume, had formed a committee to thoroughly review the bill before sending it for the President's assent.
The legislation aims to enhance road safety and address substance abuse issues among transport workers across Nigeria.
"Evidence suggests that one in four people will experience mental health challenges in their lifetime. If there are 300 people in this event, 75 of us will experience mental health challenges in our lifetime.
"There's no way of describing physically what people are facing, feeling emotionally, so a lot of times, workers report it as malaria."
Udeze, who is a consultant psychiatrist, said that mental health losses are about N1 trillion in developed economies, given the impact.
"Evidence shows that if you look into the mental health of a staff, there will be tremendous job satisfaction, morale will be high, and they will be more productive," he concluded.
Earlier, the chairman of the occasion, the chief executive of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), Brig General Mohammed Buba Marwa (rtd), stated that substance abuse in Nigeria had assumed a fresh dimension despite measures put in place by the government in line with international convention to counter drug use among Nigerian youths.